Source: Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO, April 28 (Reuters) - KBR Inc
KBR, an engineering and construction company that also manages military logistics, was paid by the U.S. government to dispose of waste on the bases, according to the complaints filed on behalf of soldiers who had been deployed in the two countries.
Oilfield services company Halliburton Co
The lawsuits, filed in Georgia, Alabama and Illinois, accused KBR of failing to properly dispose of waste which led to prolonged exposure to hazardous smoke, fumes and ash.
"These exposures are causing a host of serious diseases, increased risk of serious diseases in the future, death and increased risk of death," the complaints in all three states said.
Burke O'Neil said in a statement that similar actions were being filed in California, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, and Wyoming.
The law firm said in the statement that the actions were on behalf of at least 20 current and former military personnel, private contractors, and families of two men who allegedly died due to exposure to the smoke.
KBR said it had not reviewed the complaints and therefore could not comment on the specific allegations.
"The general assertion, however, that KBR knowingly harmed soldiers or contractors is unfounded," the company said in an emailed statement. "The safety and security of all employees and those the company serves remains KBR's top priority." (Reporting by Braden Reddall; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
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Halliburton operates and based at Cayman Islands.This way it stands above any good law. ===================== BP seeks to recoup all its Deepwater oil spill costs from U.S. contractor Halliburton By THIS IS MONEY REPORTER Last updated at 9:59 AM on 3rd January 2012 Comments (1) Share BP is suing U.S. contractor Halliburton for all the costs and expenses it has incurred from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster off the Louisiana coast in 2010. In a filing at the federal court in New Orleans, BP said the cement firm should reimburse it for the cost of cleaning up the oil spill, the lost profits from the well and 'all other costs and damages', Bloomberg News reported. BP has so far paid $21billion (£13.5 billion) for the clean-up operation and compensating individuals, businesses and governments. Oil spill: The disaster killed 11 workers and caused millions of gallons of oil to be leaked into the Gulf of Mexico It has also reserved more than $40billion (£25.8 billion) to cover costs related to the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. BP and Halliburton accuse each other of making critical mistakes that caused the blow-out of the well off the Louisiana coast in 2010. More... BP SHARES: Check the latest price here Forums: Tip of the year 2012 The disaster killed 11 workers and caused millions of gallons of oil to be leaked into the Gulf of Mexico, killing wildlife, polluting waters and shattering fisheries and tourism along the coasts of Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. BP owned the lease for the Macondo well and Halliburton provided well-completion services for the project. They are believed to jointly face more than 500 lawsuits by coastal property owners, businesses and governments claiming billions of dollars in damages. A judge at a federal court in New Orleans is expected to begin a trial in February to determine liability for the spill. Halliburton, based in Houston, Texas, has said its cementing services contract requires BP to indemnify it from all damage claims, even if its employees were found to have shared blame for the disaster, according to Bloomberg. But BP has rejected that argument and has accused Halliburton of gross negligence. The defendants in the lawsuits over the spill also include Switzerland-based Transocean - the owner of the Deepwater Horizon, Cameron International - the maker of the blow-out prevention equipment, Anadarko Petroleum, which owned 25 per cent of the Macondo prospect, and Mitsui & Co's Moex Offshore unit, which owned a 10 per cent stake in the well. Cameron, Anadarko and Mitsui have already reached settlements with BP. Shares in BP are 1 per cent or 6.55p higher at 467.05p in early morning trading. Before the Deepwater disaster, BP was the biggest company in the FTSE 100 Index and its leading payer of dividends. Stock trend: BP's share price has not recovered since the oil spill disaster in 2010 Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2081588/BP-seeks-recoup-Deepwater-oil-spill-costs-Halliburton.html#ixzz1iOmBIkUZ ======================= 'Biggest cover-up in US history' Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:47:15 GMT Months after the US government declared the waters in the Gulf of Mexico safe, thick layers of oil have been found along Louisiana coastal marshes, prompting local officials to accuse relevant authorities of 'cover-up.' Louisiana officials say parts of the state's coastline are still being fouled more than eight months after British Petroleum's (BP) Deepwater Horizon rig caused the biggest oil disaster in the United States. "This is the biggest cover-up in the history of America,'' AP quoted Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser as saying. On Friday, Robert Barham, secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, joined Nungesser on a tour of the area. "It has been eight months since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, and five months since the well was capped. While workers along the coast dedicated themselves to cleaning up our shores there is still so much to be done," Barham said in a statement. The heavily saturated area that reporters saw was 30 feet (9 meters) to 100 feet (30 meters) wide in sections. "There's been no mechanism to clean that up thus far," the parish president said. "Every day, this shoreline is moving inland," lessening flood protection for residents, Nungesser added. This is while US President Barack Obama and one his daughters went for a swim in the Gulf of Mexico last summer in an attempt to portray the water as safe and boost tourism industry reeling in the affected areas after millions of barrels of oil leaked into the gulf. Nungesser has been a frequent and outspoken critic of the cleanup effort ever since the oil explosion began infiltrating the environmentally delicate Louisiana coast line in April 20. The wildlife and fisheries department, meanwhile, said oiled boom remains in "numerous locations, forgotten or lost by contractors charged with their maintenance and removal." The officials said biologists have found several oiled birds in the past few days, including at least two dead brown pelicans. The explosion that destroyed the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 workers and, according to the government estimates, led to more than 200 million gallons (757 million liters) of oil spewing from a hole a mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico. ================ BP preparing "vigorously" for oil spill lawsuits Tue, Feb 07 02:40 AM EST LONDON (Reuters) - BP said it was preparing "vigorously" for lawsuits related to its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which are due to start later this month, as it unveiled a rise in fourth quarter earnings on the back of higher oil prices. Chief Executive Bob Dudley said BP was ready to settle on "fair and reasonable terms" but added he was also ready to fight. Europe's second-largest oil group by market capitalization added it would end payments into the $20 billion fund created to compensate those impacted by the United States' worst-ever offshore oil spill a year early after receiving contributions from its partners in the doomed Macondo well. BP said it made a replacement cost (RC) net profit of $7.61 billion in the quarter, up from $4.61 billion in the same period last year. Stripping out one-offs, the result was $4.99 billion, in line with an I/B/E/S consensus forecast of $4.89 billion, although one analyst said the result was flattered by a lower than expected tax rate (Reporting by Tom Bergin)
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