Lawsuit seeks records of toxic exposures at Uzbek air base

By DAVE COLLINS
Associated Press

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Veterans’ advocacy groups have sued the U.S. Department of Defense seeking records of toxic conditions at an air base in Uzbekistan blamed for causing cancer and other illnesses among American troops who served there in support of the war in Afghanistan. The lawsuit was filed Monday in federal court in Connecticut. It accuses military officials of withholding information about hazardous materials — including uranium, chemical weapons and asbestos — that were on the Karshi-Khanabad Air Base during U.S. operations there from 2001 to 2005. A spokesperson says the Pentagon cannot comment because of litigation. The Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School is representing the plaintiffs.