A recent investigation found new evidence linking rare cancers to service members who served at Karshi-Khanabad, or K2, a former Soviet base in Uzbekistan.
According to an article published by CBS News, “After 9/11, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says about 10,000 troops passed through K2 over a four-year period, supporting missions hunting al Qaeda. But while stationed there, some say they were surrounded by dangerous, toxic waste at the running track and at a site nicknamed “Skittles Pond” for its changing shade…Now, for the first time, a Department of Defense employee involved in testing at the base is going on the record.”
A VA spokesperson stated that all disability claims are decided on an individual basis and that the department will be following the possible health effects of K2 deployment very closely.
Relevant pages: Veterans Disability