No One Left Behind
The United States has always held that “the willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.” – Jeff Miller (R-FL)
The sons and daughters of this nation made the choice to risk it all when they chose to serve in our Nation’s military. They left the comfort of their homes and chose to serve because of their sense of duty and love towards this Nation. Many were young - only in their 20s. When they came back home and reunited with their families, those men and women had entire lives to look forward to: new jobs, new homes, children, family. They had fought their battle and done their part to serve, or so they thought.
Then they began getting “bad news'' and we started to hear the devastating stories. We heard about the new father who had recently begun working as a firefighter and bought a house, only to find out that he had terminal cancer. Or was it the mother who was told that she has breast cancer ten years after her deployment, and that she must somehow find a way to tell her seven-year-old son that she was dying. Or still, was it the 32-year-old veteran who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer with only six months to live.
Previously healthy veterans are coming forward with stories of rare pulmonary issues, chronic respiratory problems, and cancers, sometimes within months or sometimes within years of deployment and, many veterans attribute their health issues to burn pit exposure.
It can be easy to overlook the risk of illness that veterans face due to toxic exposure from their everyday work environments while serving in the military. At times, the connection between toxic exposure and the illness may go unrealized for many years.
Since 2001, between 1.9 and 3 million service members have served in post-9/11 war operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. These veterans returned home believing that their battle was over, but for many veterans, their fight for survival had just begun. About 86% of those who were deployed, assert that they were exposed to burn pits during their service in Afghanistan and Iraq. About 90% of veterans who worked near burn pits believe that they suffer from health problems, which they attribute to burn pit exposure.
Burn pits were utilized prolifically in Iraq and Afghanistan to incinerate everything from food and human waste to plastics, paint, aluminum, munitions, petroleum, lubricant products, styrofoam and rubber.
It has been determined that burning waste in open burn pits is more hazardous to human health when compared to the effects of burning waste in commercial incinerators. Research conducted by the VA has confirmed that “toxins in burn pit smoke may affect the skin, eyes, respiratory and cardiovascular systems, gastrointestinal tract and internal organs” resulting in mostly temporary irritation and breathing difficulties. However, research regarding the long-term effects of burn pits has been limited and inconclusive.
As such, veterans face an uphill battle to receive treatment for conditions related to burn pit exposure. Veterans must prove that their health condition is directly related to their exposure to burn pits, and the VA must review each case individually.
The VA established the Burn Pit registry in 2014. However, only 241,000 veterans have signed up for the registry (I don’t know the reason behind the low registration numbers, but if you have any insight, I would love to hear from you).
This data could have helped hone in on the cause of certain ailments and allowed scientists and analysts to eliminate certain others.
The Registry is useful and good, though it would be good to extend the Registry to global arenas as well, because that could help more specifically identify if the location, environment, or types of activities were additional factors.
Dust and air pollution in areas of deployment could have caused some of the ailments. Even so, the soldiers should be covered for benefits not just in the South and Western Asia but possibly also in other locations where troops are deployed and where similar environmental conditions exist. The recent National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 will expand the Burn Pit Registry to allow veterans who served in Egypt and Syria to also participate in the registry. The NDAA will also provide for mandatory medical training regarding burn pit exposure for healthcare providers working with the Department of Defense to promote a more holistic understanding of burn pit exposure.
Seven years after the Burn Pit registry was established, some burn pit victims shall now receive presumptive status when applying for disability benefits for asthma, rhinitis, and sinusitis. While these presumptive benefits do not yet include coverage for any rare cancers, the VA plans to announce if some forms of cancer and rare lung disorders will receive expedited benefits and disability compensation.
The VA has developed a new data model to determine the connection between burn pit exposure and serious respiratory conditions and is additionally conducting a review of rare cancers to provide recommendations about new presumptions of service connections with such ailments.
Caring for our veterans is our honor and privilege, and it is especially important for the VA to ensure that no veteran gets left behind in their pursuit of a fulfilling life after having sacrificed so much.
Sources:
https://www.dav.org/veterans/resources/military-toxic-exposures/
https://veteran.mobilehealth.va.gov/AHBurnPitRegistry/#page/home
https://www.research.va.gov/topics/oef-oif.cfm
https://www.publichealth.va.gov/docs/exposures/ten-things-to-know-fact-sheet.pdf
https://www.nd.gov/veterans/news/ten-things-veterans-should-know-about-burn-pits
https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/11/politics/military-exposure-burn-pits-biden-administration/index.html
https://www.military.com/benefits/veteran-benefits/what-burn-pit-registry.html
