In other Iraq news, nine former employees are suing the war contractor KBR for knowingly exposing them to toxic chemicals without adequate protection. The workers, all US citizens, say KBR falsely assured them a chemical strewn across their work site was only a mild irritant. It turned out to be sodium dichromate, known as highly cancerous. KBR is seeking a dismissal through the Defense Base Act, which limits employee lawsuits against war contractors. But KBR’s own previous tax-dodging could undermine its attempt. Earlier this month, the Boston Globe revealed KBR has avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in federal taxes by hiring workers through shell companies based in the Cayman Islands. Lawyers plan to argue KBR’s foreign tax status excludes it from protection under federal law.