PARKERSBURG - Seven members of the 1092nd Engineering Battalion of the West Virginia National Guard based in Parkersburg have sued a company whose work they guarded while the company was restoring a water plant to supply water to an oil field.

Listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Dale Gallaher of Kansas City, Kan., Robert Wilson of Dunbar, W.Va., Russell Powell of Moundsville, W.Va., Andru Keller of Middlebourne, W.Va., Eric Heid of Rocky Mount, N.C., John Headley of Paden City, W.Va., and Bradley Ebert of Wheeling, W.Va.

Defendants are KBR, Inc., Kellogg, Brown and Root Services, Inc., KBR Technical Services, Inc., Overseas Administration Services, Ltd. and Service Employees International, Inc.

The National Guard members were protecting workers hired by a subsidiary of KBR Inc. to rebuild an Iraqi water treatment plant. The area, as it turned out, was contaminated with hexavalent chromium, the same chemical linked to poisonings in California in a case made famous in the movie "Erin Brockovich," according to the suit. Now six years later many of them are sick and some have died.

According to the lawsuit filed late last week in U.S. District Court in Wheeling, several of the West Virginia soldiers "have already manifested respiratory system tumors characteristically associated with hexavalent chromium exposure, and many of the West Virginia Guardsmen continue to experience chemical sensitivities and rashes consistent with the impacts of hexavalent chromium poisoning. As has become clear only recently, the West Virginia Guardsmen and other exposed persons now require ongoing, expensive follow-up health care for the health impacts of these exposures, as well as compensation for the reasonably anticipated manifestations over time, including the cancers, potential impact on their offspring, and heightened reaction to chromium salts in the environment."

Causes of action listed in the suit include negligence, gross negligence, tort of outrage and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

The lawsuits against KBR and two subsidiaries accuse them of minimizing and concealing the chemical's dangers, then downplaying nosebleeds and breathing problems as nothing more than sand allergies or a reaction to desert air.

Heather L. Browne, director of corporate communications for KBR Inc. in Houston, released the following statement on the lawsuit Wednesday evening.

"KBR's commitment to the safety and security of all employees, the troops and those we serve is the company's top priority. KBR did not knowingly harm troops. 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 U.S. 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. KBR has provided the results of environmental testing and assessments to the U.S. Military and will continue to fully cooperate with the government on this issue."

Similar reactions to the chemical have been found in soldiers from other states who also protected KBR workers.

Oregon's Larry Roberta struggles for every breath, a painful reminder of his time in Iraq. He can't walk a block without gasping for air. His chest hurts, his migraines sometimes persist for days and he needs pills to help him sleep.

Indiana's James Gentry came home with rashes, ear troubles and a shortness of breath. Later, things got much worse: He developed lung cancer.

David Moore's postwar life turned into a harrowing medical mystery: nosebleeds and labored breathing that made it impossible to work, much less speak. His desperate search for answers ended last year when he died of lung disease at age 42.

No one disputes that the area around the water treatment plant was contaminated with hexavalent chromium. But that's where the agreement ends.

Among the issues now rippling through Congress are whether the chemical made people sick, when KBR knew it was there and how the company responded. But the debate is about more than this one case; it has raised broader questions about private contractors and health risks in war zones.

Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., plans to hold congressional hearings on the issues. He plans to seek answers to the following questions:

"How should we treat exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals as a threat to our soldiers? How seriously should that threat be taken? What is the role of private contractors? What about the potential conflict between their profit motives and taking all steps necessary to protect our soldiers?"

"This case," Bayh says, "has brought to light the need for systemic reform."

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)