KBR Accused of Endangering Troops and Covering Up

HOUSTON (CN) - KBR exposed thousands of U.S. soldiers to contaminated water, rotten food, and medical waste in Iraq, while being paid billions by the government, says a federal class. Employees who spoke to government auditors "were sent to more dangerous locations in Iraq."

The plaintiff-soldiers say KBR gave troops ice shipped in trucks contaminated by corpses' body fluids, "prevented their employees from speaking with government auditors and hid employees from auditors by moving them from bases when an audit was scheduled," and adds, "Any employees that spoke with auditors were sent to more dangerous locations in Iraq as punishment."

The plaintiffs say KBR provided the troops with water in unclean containers, served them "rotten food," including "eggs that were unsafe to eat ... [which] caused salmonella poisoning."

They claim "KBR charged the U.S. government for many more meals than were actually served and charged the U.S. government for food served to defendant KBR's own employees."

The complaint adds: "Trucks that have been used as mortuary trucks are never permitted to carry any food supplied. Defendants ignored this rule, and shipped ice service to U.S. forces in trucks that had been used to carry human remains and that still had traces of body fluids and putrefied remains in them when they were loaded with ice. This ice was served to U.S. forces."

Plaintiffs are represented by Philip Werner with Werner Ayers.

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