UK soldiers diagnosed with cancer after being ‘knowingly exposed’ to harmful chemicals in Iraq war

Some 100 British troops may have been exposed to sodium dichromate while guarding the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant in 2003, Sky News reports. A number of have spoken out say this has left them with a range of health problems, including brain tumours and cancer diagnoses.

Described as a “deadly poison”, sodium dichromate is a known carcinogen. The ground at Qarmat Ali was covered in it, according to the former servicemen.

Lord Richard Dannatt, former chief of the UK general staff, called for a “proper investigation” into what happened. With the soldiers calling for answers and accountability.

“If the health of some of these service people has been affected, then I guess there probably is a case for at least medical support, if not compensation,” Dannatt said.

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