S&S - Judge dismisses Ind. Guard suit against KBR over chemical exposure

From my archive of press clippings:

Stars and Stripes

Judge dismisses Ind. Guard suit against KBR over chemical exposure

By Travis J. Tritten, Stars and Stripes

Stars and Stripes Online Edition, Friday, February 26, 2010

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit brought by 47 Indiana National Guard soldiers who claim the military contractor KBR failed to protect them from exposure to a potent carcinogen during a 2003 deployment to Iraq.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The case was dismissed in the Southern District of Indiana because the court does not have jurisdiction over KBR, which is headquartered in Houston and has no offices in the state, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Young wrote in his ruling, a copy of which was obtained by Stars and Stripes.

Young’s ruling did not address the validity of claims the contractor hid the existence and risks of hexavalent chromium at the Qarmat Ali water treatment facility from Guard members, who provided security during restoration of the facility.

The claims will be filed soon in another federal court jurisdiction, plaintiffs’ attorney Mike Doyle said in a statement."

"Hundreds of Guard members from Indiana, Oregon, West Virginia and South Carolina were notified last year that they might have been exposed to the carcinogen while securing Qarmat Ali during summer 2003, according to the U.S. Army."

&

"Guard members said they came down with chronic bloody noses and sickness while at Qarmat Ali and still suffer illnesses.

KBR denies it hid the existence and health hazards of the anti-corrosive, which is being phased out by the Department of Defense in coming years due to health and environmental risks."