Yuma veteran joins burn pit lawsuit

A former soldier from Yuma is now fighting another type of battle — one for his health.

Veteran Rigo Gonzalez has joined a class-action lawsuit against KBR and Halliburton for being allegedly exposed to noxious vapors from burn pits while he was deployed in Iraq.

"I wasn't aware there was even a lawsuit until about three months ago," Gonzalez, 39, told the Yuma Sun. "Not only has this cost me my health, but also my careers."

Gonzalez, a former Border Patrol agent in Yuma, said he was deployed to Iraq in from December 2003 to March 2005 as a member of the National Guard's 3666th Maintenance Company.

During his deployment, Gonzalez said, he was ordered to burn some large tents and netting in a makeshift dump site that is commonly know as a burn pit.

"They burned a lot of things in these pits that shouldn't have been burned, such as tires and medical supplies. A lot of times they will ignite these burn pits with jet fuel. There were even instances where human remains were burned."

Gonzalez said he began to feel tired during his tour but didn't think much of it. It wasn't until after his deployment, when the fatigue continued, that he realized something was wrong.

Then in October 2005, Gonzalez was diagnosed with leukemia. He was medically discharged from the National Guard in February 2007. He says he was no longer able to perform his duties as a soldier. He added he is also no longer employed as a Border Patrol agent either.

"I was perfectly healthy, so I don't know how this could have happened. I had my suspicions, though."

Teresa Wong, manager of public relations for Halliburton, told the Yuma Sun her company does not comment on lawsuits or pending litigation.

Heather Browne, a spokeswoman for KBR, also declined to comment directly. Browne referred the newspaper to a fact sheet KBR has created on the burn pit issue.

"KBR does not decide where to locate or operate a burn pit," the company states in the fact sheet. "That decision is made by the Army. KBR operates burn pits in accordance with guidelines approved by the Army."

The company denies placing improper waste into burn pits.

"The Army creates a prohibited-items list that determined which wastes could not be placed in a burn pit," according to the fact sheet, which also stated: "KBR does not place human body parts in burn pits."

Gonzalez said one of the probable causes of his leukemia is benzene, which is emitted when petroleum burns.

He didn't make the connection between his illness and the burn pits, he said, until he started seeing information on the Internet that other troops were making similar claims.

Several troops, he added, claim to have suffered and even died from health problems and chronic illnesses, such as leukemia, cancer and respiratory problems attributed to these burn pits, which were run by the Halliburton and KBR.

"They had the contract and they took a shortcut," Gonzalez said. "They could have done it the right way and bought incinerators, but they didn't because it would have cost more.

"They disregarded the safety of the service members and their own employees. If you're taking shortcuts, then you don't care about human life and safety, so you need to be held accountable for your actions."

While he is no longer exposed to these burn pits, Gonzalez said his concern now is that troops who are currently deployed are told of the dangers.

A preliminary hearing has been set for June 4. That's when Gonzalez said he and other plaintiffs will know if the case will go to court or if a settlement will be reached.