From The Associated Press, 3/16/06:
http://www.startribune.com/587/story/310654.html
Firm Failed to Protect U.S. Troops' Water
WASHINGTON (AP) -
Halliburton Co. failed to protect the water supply it is paid to
purify for U.S. soldiers throughout Iraq, in one instance missing
contamination that could have caused "mass sickness or death,'' an
internal company report concluded.
By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -
Halliburton Co. failed to protect the water supply it is paid to
purify for U.S. soldiers throughout Iraq, in one instance missing
contamination that could have caused "mass sickness or death,'' an
internal company report concluded.
The report, obtained by The Associated Press, said the company failed
to assemble and use its own water purification equipment, allowing
contaminated water directly from the Euphrates River to be used for
washing and laundry at Camp Ar Ramadi in Ramadi, Iraq.
The problems discovered last year at that site - poor training,
miscommunication and lax record keeping - occurred at Halliburton's
other operations throughout Iraq, the report said.
"Countrywide, all camps suffer to some extent from all or some of the
deficiencies noted,'' Wil Granger, Theatre Water Quality Manager in
the war zone for Halliburton's KBR subsidiary, wrote in his May 2005
report.
AP reported earlier this year allegations from whistleblowers about
the Camp Ar Ramadi incident, but Halliburton never made public
Granger's internal report alleging wider problems.
The water quality expert warned Halliburton the problems "will have to
be dealt with at a very elevated level of management'' to protect
health and safety of U.S. personnel.
Halliburton said Wednesday it conducted a second review last year that
found no evidence of any illnesses in Iraq from water and it believes
some of its earlier conclusions were incomplete and inaccurate.
The company declined to release the second report.
The company said it has "worked closely with the Army to develop
standards and take action to ensure that the water provided in Iraq is
safe and of the highest quality possible.''
Halliburton was headed by Vice President ***** Cheney for several years
before he ran for vice president.
Its KBR subsidiary, also known as Kellogg Brown & Root, works under
contract to provide a number of services to the U.S. military in Iraq,
including providing water and purifying it.
The contaminated, non-chlorinated water at Ar Ramadi was discovered in
March 2005 in a commode by Ben Carter, a KBR water expert at the base.
In an interview, Carter said he resigned after KBR barred him from
notifying the military and senior company officials about the
untreated water.
A supervisor at Ar Ramadi "told me to stop e-mailing'' company
officials outside the base and warned that informing the military "was
none of my concern,'' Carter said.
He said he threatened to sue if company officials didn't let him be
examined to determine whether he suffered medical problems from
exposure to the contaminated water.
Granger's report cited several countrywide problems:
-A lack of training for key personnel. "Theatre wide there is no
formalized training for anyone at any level in concerns to water
operations.''
-Confusion between KBR and military officials over their respective
roles. For instance, each assumed the other would chlorinate the water
at Ar Ramadi for any uses that would require the treatment.
-Inadequate or nonexistent records that could have caught problems in
advance. Little or no documentation was kept on water inventories,
safety stand-downs, audits of water quality, deliveries, inspections
and logs showing alterations or modifications to water systems.
-Relying on employees the company identified as semiskilled labor, and
paid as unskilled workers in the pay structure.
The report said the event at Ar Ramadi could have been prevented if
KBR's Reverse Osmosis Units on the site had been assembled, instead of
relying on the military's water production facilities.
"This event should be considered a 'near miss' as the consequences of
these actions could have been very severe resulting in mass sickness
or death,'' Granger wrote.
The report said that KBR officials at Ar Ramadi tried to keep the
contamination from senior company officials.
"The event that was submitted in a report to local camp management
should have been classified as a recordable occurrence and
communicated to senior management in a timely manner,'' Granger wrote.
"The primary awareness to this event came through threat of domestic
litigation.''
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Supporting our troops. Don't expect anyone to get prosecuted for this.
Harry
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