This section is for discussion of all things military, past or present, that are related to active duty. Armor, Infantry, Navy stuff all welcome here. In service images and stories welcome here.
Tue Dec 23, 2008 10:38 pm
OK, got the news outlet wrong.
How do you know if you have cancer, what caused it? I really don't know.
Whats a safe distance from Hex-Chrome? 5 feet? 100 feet? 1 mile?
Can a soldier sue a private company operating in a foreign country with different safety standards?
Tue Dec 23, 2008 11:00 pm
It is not hard to detect cancer cells, biopshy etc. . As to the cause, that takes more, but HEX is a known carcinegen.
How far a safe distance is is sort of a moot point. In the Erin Brockavitch case, PG& E did not tell the people living there that they put HEX in the water table. In Iraq, KBR did not tell the soldiers that the HEX was there so once again there was no chance to avoid it.
Of course the soldiers can sue, as they have, the question is whether they can win the case. The law is slanted toward the contractor. But I'd sure like to be the lawyer for the soldiers with the widows and children and the critical ill vets with no hair sitting there in front of a jury of normal patriot people.
Tue Dec 23, 2008 11:35 pm
b29flteng wrote:OK, got the news outlet wrong.

/quote]you must have been distracted by all the tweety birds flying around in circles around your head, right?

b29flteng wrote:How do you know if you have cancer, what caused it? I really don't know.
there are a variety of ways. different materials cause different kinds of cancer. There are long lists of carcinogens, with the rate at which they cause cancer by exposure rates.
For instance, if you are in an environment where large amounts of bacon are a factor and there are large amounts of tobacco smoke in the area, and there are large amounts of HEX in the area, and you do not get bowel cancer, but instead get lung cancer, you then look at how many others in the area got lung cancer--and you look especially for non smokers. Also, the speed at which physical debilitation occurs can tell you a lot. Hex causes other issues as well, which can show exposure levels.
Basically it's all sciency and I'm sure your attention has wandered back to those cute birds flying around up there, so just have some faith that God has indeed set rules about these things, the same way he set rules about how airplanes float waaay up there in the sky with your birdies...There are even people who study and record the effects of these carcinogens. They are called doctors and scientists and they know lots of things, like how big the earth is and what color the sky is and stuff like that. You know, sciency stuff.

b29flteng wrote:Whats a safe distance from Hex-Chrome? 5 feet? 100 feet? 1 mile?
It isn't proximity, but exposure. You imbibe or inhale it to get cancer from it. If it is in the water you drink, you get cancer. IF it is in the air you breathe, you get cancer. If you are 12 miles away from the source you can still get cancer if the wind blows it into your breathing air, or if it settles into the water table and you drink it from a water well.
Wed Dec 24, 2008 9:24 am
The birdies have radial engines.... like what Bill needs in his Spitfire.
I think it would be very difficult to prove the cancer came from Hex-chrome.
Wed Dec 24, 2008 10:33 am
B-29, I don't know much about the medical tracing involved, but in the case with PG& E in where they poisoned the water table and hundreds of adults and kids got sick, the Co, and it's lawyers were stubborn at first and denied it all. But a jury of real people may see it otherwise, and in the end the co. paid millions$$. In the case with KBR, if perhaps there were soldiers who served there, with nothing in common, Except that exposure, and a large number got cancer, you'd have a case.
If you never saw the movie, ERIN BROCKAVITCH, you should rent the video. It's good,it's very funny, as well as sad, and based on the real lady who is not even a lawyer and still beat a lot of big shots. Her commison was $2 mil, in the movie and she was well played by Julia Roberts.
Wed Dec 24, 2008 10:45 am
I've seen the movie, it was good.
Wed Dec 24, 2008 1:41 pm
Was Sam Elliot in that one?
Wasn't difficult to prove the link there. Why would it be any different in this case? Or are you arguing just to argue?
Wed Dec 24, 2008 2:07 pm
http://archive.salon.com/ent/feature/20 ... .html?pn=5
http://fumento.com/erinwsj.html
http://fumento.com/mickeyerin.html
The movie was good entertainment, the case seems to have relied on junk "science", emotions, and personal injury lawyers who are just as happy to manipulate judges on an arbitration board as a jury.
Wed Dec 24, 2008 2:18 pm
GILT, if you want to have a debate on the PG& E , Brockavitch case, it might be interesting, but please be polite enough to grind your axe on your own topic on another site. This one is about the soldiers, and only related because agent HEX is the same. Neither the law firm, the location, the court, or the plaintiffs or the defendants are the same.
I am sure you can find a lot of anti lawyer sentiment on your own site, and in my view, you have every right to express your opinion.
Wed Dec 24, 2008 2:32 pm
Bill-
Interesting that you brought the EB movie into this discussion but are now DEMANDING that I find another site to grind my axe..........................
The comment about lawyers comes from details in the Salon article, did you bother to read it?
I suspect this will quickly be locked down given your heated response to a rather mild post.
Tom-
Bill Greenwood wrote:GILT, if you want to have a debate on the PG& E , Brockavitch case, it might be interesting, but please be polite enough to grind your axe on your own topic on another site. This one is about the soldiers, and only related because agent HEX is the same. Neither the law firm, the location, the court, or the plaintiffs or the defendants are the same.
I am sure you can find a lot of anti lawyer sentiment on your own site, and in my view, you have every right to express your opinion.
Wed Dec 24, 2008 6:42 pm
Gilt, I wrote "please be polite enough" to put yours on another topic. That seems like a polite request to me, not "demanding". What language would you like me to use to ask the same thing?
I read your sources. I just don't have the time or interest to get into a debate on that subject. Maybe if you start such a topic, my Son who is a law student or Mark may want to join in a discussion.
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