Department of Defense to Investigate Army's Response to Exposure of US Troops to Deadly Chemical in Iraq

October 01, 2009 -- Washington, DC – Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., today announced that the Defense Department’s Inspector General will investigate the U.S. Army’s response to the 2003 exposure of hundreds of U.S. soldiers to the deadly chemical sodium dichromate in Iraq.

In 2003, members of the West Virginia National Guard were deployed to Basra, Iraq, where they may have been exposed to toxic materials, including sodium dichromate. According to the Army, this chemical, used by former Iraqi plant workers to prevent corrosion, was found on the ground and measured in the air. The chromium VI (six) in sodium dichromate is considered a serious health hazard. Members of an Indiana National Guard unit that were deployed nearby also attributed post-deployment illnesses to the same exposures in the same area. In July 2005, a senior Department of Defense official testified about numerous other incidents involving hazardous materials.

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Byrd has joined in cosponsoring legislation to help remedy this critical situation, the “Health Care for Servicemembers Exposed to Chemical Hazards Act,” and also joined several of his Senate colleagues in writing to the Inspector General in August, urging him to perform a formal investigation into the matter.

Charles Beardall, the Deputy Inspector General for Policy and Oversight, has informed the Senators by letter that the IG will initiate an investigation that will begin this month. The Senators asked the IG to investigate seven specific areas related to the exposure and the Army’s response to it.

Another concern of the Senators has been whether the Army is adequately informing the Department of Veterans Affairs about the exposure and its potentially deadly consequences. Having such information is vital to proper treatment and even the ability of former soldiers to be treated by the VA for a “service connected” sickness that could take years after the initial exposure to develop.

In his letter informing the Senators of the investigation, Beardall said the IG will coordinate his investigation with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“I look forward to the findings by the Inspector General,” said Byrd. “The hazards of war are many and often unavoidable. But we owe it to our troops, who risk so much for our nation, to provide the best possible health and medical care, whether they are injured by a bullet or by a cloud of toxic chemicals.”

Source: Senator Robert C. Byrd