Halliburton provided U.S. troops contaminated water, tried to cover it up

Despite repeated warnings by employees, it appears Halliburton subsidiary KBR exposed U.S. troops to untreated, contaminated water that could have caused "mass sickness and death":

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.

According to the article, another employee who first discovered the problems and tried to alert management resigned after he was told to keep quiet:

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.

The problem was also the subject of a Senate Democratic Policy Committee oversight hearing in January. A transcript of that hearing is here, and internal KBR e-mails submitted into evidence are here. As the e-mails reveal, of course the first priority in any Halliburton crisis situation is PR and damage control:

From: Jennifer Dellinger
Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2005 4:15 PM
To: Katja Wimmer; Anthony Reed
Cc: Stephanie Price; Melissa Norcross
Subject: FW: possible water contamination

Kat and Anthony:

Please see the below email from Faith Sproul regarding possible contaminated non-potable (non-drinking) water at B4 in Ar Ramadi. I have spoken with Faith and she does not have much more information at this time. However, she does believe that initial tests showed some contamination to be present. According to Faith, these three former employees (who claim they quit due to the contaminated water) have refused to go to the doctor to be tested. But in order to make a claim for disability, you actually have to have proof of injury.

It’s possible we could receive some queries on this if these former employees decide to go to the press. Therefore, can you please run some traps on this and see what you can find out? I don’t want to turn it into a big issue right now, but if we end up getting some media calls I want to make sure we have all the facts so we are ready to respond.

Thanks in advance for your help,
Jennifer
Jennifer W. Dellinger
Halliburton Public Relations

Perhaps the greatest irony of all, though, is this quote that appears in Wil Granger's e-mail signature:

"Compliance with the law and honesty and integrity in our dealings with others are not to be sacrificed in the name of profits. Management does not and will not condone any such action. Our success will be attained through compliance with the law, dealings evidencing fairness and integrity and a commitment to quality. We expect your wholehearted support of these Company values and principles." - Dave Lesar

Dave Lesar, is, of course, Chairman of the Board, President & Chief Executive Officer of Halliburton.

OK, then.