U.S. Soldiers Exposed To Toxic Substance In Iraq, Cite Health Concerns

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

Exposure to a toxic substance at a water injection facility in Iraq has left U.S. soldiers in deteriorating health. The U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee conducted a hearing Monday to investigate what some Senators would describe as the Army’s lackluster response.

“The Army failed to provide proper oversight over KBR's [military contractor Kellogg, Brown and Root] contract provisions that called for the contractor to identify, prevent and mitigate environmental hazards so as to protect the health and safety of workers and U.S. troops,” said Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.).

Another hearing was held last year to address how KBR had exposed its own workers and hundreds of U.S. soldiers to a highly toxic chemical, sodium dichromate, at the Qarmat Ali water injection facility in the Spring and Summer of 2003.

Four National Guard soldiers testified at Monday's hearing and told the committee about their subsequent health problems.

Russell Powell, Former Staff Sergeant of the West Virginia Army National Guard said “I and many other soldiers and KBR workers had severe nosebleeds, coughed up blood, had difficulty breathing and nausea, and/or experienced a burning sensation in our lungs and throats. After a few weeks of being the facility, many of the soldiers around me began getting lesions on their hands, arms, faces, and in the nostril area.”

The sodium dichromate was described by all four men as a thick orange powder that often filled the air during windstorms. They said they were certainly aware of the substance but even after inquiring about its effects, were told it was only a mild irritant. Despite the dismissal of the substance’s harmful nature, the soldiers were consistently having health problems and finding it difficult to breathe in the facility and surrounding areas.

Herman Gibb, PhD, an expert on health risks associated with exposure to sodium chromate, testified that the chemical is considered to be a deadly carcinogen.

“Based on my experience working at the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] on risk assessments of hexavalent chromium and my study of chromate production workers, the symptoms reported by some of the soldiers who served at Qarmat Ali are consistent with significant exposure to sodium chromate,” Gibb said.

The soldiers stated that they continue to struggle with lingering respiratory, sinus, and other serious medical conditions.

Two of the four soldiers testifying were not notified until this year that they had been exposed to the carcinogen when they received a letter from their respective state’s National Guard under which they served.

Military Recruiting "purely remarkable."

I’ve never seen a better Army, said Major General Thomas P. Bostick, Commanding General of U.S. Army Recruiting Command, at a briefing on FY2008 Recruiting and Retention for the AVF (All Volunteer Force) Military, held at the Pentagon. Each person, Bostick said, became a hero the day they enlisted. Dr. David S.C. Chu, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, echoed this sentiment by saying that a willingness to step forward and serve is a great tribute to our military.

Ninety-two percent of those enlisting overall in FY2008 had high school diplomas, with the Army having the lowest score, with only eighty-three percent having diplomas. The Air Force, at ninety-nine percent, is the branch of service having the highest amount of enlistees with diplomas in FY2008. One of the ways the Army is working with that, is by their Army Prep School, where potential recruits can get GEDs before they go to Basic Training for the Army.

All services met or even exceeded their recruiting goals for FY2008. At the end of the year, the totals for Accessions were 80, 517 Army; 38,485 Navy; 37, 991 Marine Corps; and 27, 848 Air Force. Of special note was the waiver system in place, where individuals are granted waivers to enter the military when ordinarily a medical problem, a criminal offense of some sort, or even their age wouldn’t have allowed them to do so before. Specific numbers were not announced for the waivers, though when the question was asked how many waivers were issued for overweight individuals Major General Robert E. Milstead, Jr, Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruiting Command, boomed from the back of the stage, "THE MARINE CORPS HAS NONE!!"

Rear Admiral Joseph F. Kilkenny, Commander, Navy Recruiting Command said in the Navy that they were successful in all fronts, and the total force team is “definitely firing on all cylinders.” The results achieved were “purely remarkable” and they were pleased they have exceeded retention goals in the Navy. But as Brigadier General Alfred J. Stewart, Commander, Air Force Recruiting Service pointed out, the retention in the Air Force is a little soft likely due to the high-skilled jobs competing with high paying competition in the private sector.

Of huge concern was how the economy affects recruitment. While Dr. Chu wouldn’t directly quote numbers, he did say that people are more willing to “give us a chance” because of it. Older adults, Chu said, need to be more supportive of young people’s decision to go into the military. If you treat people right, such as equal pay for a job they could hold in the civilian sector, good benefits, and use of deployments, they will stay in. There are many discussions about “public service,” said Chu, but few mention the military as a way to do that.

Light shed on reservists’s “gray area”

Congressman Bob Latta (R-Ohio) held a press conference in support of the TRICARE Continuity of Coverage for National Guard and Reserve Families Act of 2008. The bill proposes to expand coverage for retirees of the National Guard and Reserve to include the “gray area.” The TRICARE program supplies medical coverage to members of the Retired Reserve who are qualified for retirement benefits but are not age sixty.

The “gray area” refers to those retired members who have given twenty or more years of service, but are not yet old enough to qualify for benefits. Latta said that there are about 220,000 members who are in this “gray area”, with 12,100 members entering this status this year. Latta also said that many retirees in this status are uninsured. The bill states that those who are between retirement and age sixty will receive coverage on or after October 1, 2009.