A group of Ohio Valley soldiers are suing military contractor KBR Inc., claiming the company knowingly exposed them to a highly toxic chemical.

The seven members of the West Virginia National Guard protected a water plant in southern Iraq and claim KBR -- the company in charge of the project -- knowingly exposed them to hexavalent chromium.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, alleges that KBR failed to tell members of the 1092nd Engineering Battalion that they were being exposed to the potent and sometimes lethal chemical linked to cancer and other illnesses.

The lawsuit follows similar ones filed on behalf of members of Guard units from Oregon and Indiana who also served at Qarmat Ali in 2003, while KBR repaired the water-treatment plant.

Staff Sgt. Russell Powell, of Moundsville, who is one of the guardsmen who filed suit, said, "We serve proudly and we're getting treated from that company as dirt -- like we're just a cash crop."

Powell said he and several other West Virginia guardsmen have suffered a number of medical problems including rashes, respiratory complications and stomach ailments. He said it all began when they were placed on security detail at the plant.

"We're not trying to take them to the bank. … If I leave I want my family taken care of and not burdened with all of my medical bills," he said.

He said every day he lives with a constant fear of what lies ahead.

"We know eventually that it will kill us, just like Agent Orange did in Vietnam and we're very, very worried," he said.

KBR has denied any wrongdoing. In a statement, company officials said: ""The company appropriately notified the Army Corps of Engineers of the existence of the substance on the site and the Corps of Engineers concluded that KBR's efforts to remediate the situation were effective. The US Military conducted tests at the site that found no dangerous levels of chromium hexavalent existed in the air. Further military testing of soldiers who worked at the site showed no evidence of exposure."

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