Lawsuit seeks records of toxic exposures at Uzbek air base

HARTFORD, Conn. – Veterans’ advocacy groups sued the U.S. Department of Defense on Monday 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 filed in federal court in Connecticut accuses military officials of withholding information about hazardous materials — including uranium, chemical weapons and asbestos — that were on the Karshi-Khanabad Air Base, known as K2, during U.S. operations there from 2001 to 2005. The contaminants included pools of “black goo” that caused military service members…