Washington—At the request of Senator Evan Bayh, Army Secretary Pete Geren has agreed to conduct an investigation into the exposure of Indiana National Guard members to hazardous chemicals while serving in Iraq in 2003.

A 60-day senior-level Army Review Panel will evaluate the steps taken to identify, inform and treat members of the 1st Battalion, 152nd Infantry of the Indiana National Guard who were exposed to sodium dichromate while guarding the Qarmat Ali Water Treatment Plant in Iraq in 2003.

“This investigation is an essential first step to ensure that members of the Indiana National Guard received the best care possible when they were unwittingly exposed to potentially carcinogenic toxins in the line of duty,” Senator Bayh said. “It’s equally important that the Army assess all measures that can be taken to ensure that our service members are never again needlessly exposed to hazardous chemicals while deployed.”

On September 12th, Bayh wrote Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary Geren requesting that the Pentagon open a broad-ranging investigation. Ten days later, Senator Bayh received a response from Secretary Geren pledging to complete a formal probe within 60 days.

“The Review Panel will address the policy and procedures for hazardous exposure and post-deployment health assessment,” Secretary Geren wrote in his Sept. 22 response to Bayh. “It will review the actions taken to identify and follow up on the military and DoD personnel who may have been exposed, including the members of the Indiana National Guard.”

In addition to a probe of the health response, Secretary Geren also said the Army investigation “will determine whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers exercised appropriate contract administration and oversight of KBR.”

The Hoosier troops were guarding an Iraqi water plant being rebuilt by the Houston-based construction firm KBR, then a subsidiary of the oil conglomerate Halliburton. Despite on-site assurances that the orange, sand-like dust spread throughout the facility was a “mild irritant,” it was later revealed to be sodium dichromate, a hexavalent chromium compound, which is the same substance that poisoned 634 people in Hinkley, Calif., in an incident that served as the basis for the motion picture, “Erin Brockovich.”

“We must diligently track which soldiers may have been placed at risk and ensure they have access to expanded health care options if symptoms develop,” Bayh said. “This is an extremely serious matter. The Army is right to conduct a thorough and speedy investigation, and I look forward to receiving the panel’s findings in November.”

Last week, Bayh proposed legislation to create an Agent Orange-style registry for U.S. military personnel exposed to hazardous chemicals while serving in the line of duty. The Bayh proposal would guarantee access to follow-up medical evaluations and priority status at Veterans Administration (VA) medical facilities for service members who have been exposed to occupational and environmental hazards while deployed. Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are cosponsors of the Bayh proposal.

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