In an effort to increase access to disability benefits and treatment at the Department of Veterans Affairs, a new bill (now connected to the National Defense Authorization Act for the fiscal year 2020) requires that servicemembers include whether they were exposed to toxic materials in their medical records. Later this year, lawmakers will rectify the…
Lawmakers and advocates have urged new action to support those exposed to toxic burn pits that are assumed to be the cause of a long list of chronic illnesses. Today, more than 173,000 servicemembers who spent time in Iraq have signed their names onto a national government registry that tracks exposure to burn pits, oil well fires,…
Open-air burn pits the U.S. military uses to eliminate waste in Iraq is said to be the cause of thousands of troops’ presumed illnesses. According to an article published by Stars and Stripes, unexploded ordnance, metal cans, plastics, Styrofoam, rubber, paint, lubricants, even body parts and animal carcasses are added to pits and ignited with…
This month, the Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act was passed which will allow family members of deceased veterans to enter cause of death in the registry. This will aid the registry in becoming a useful tool for researching the health effects of toxic exposure on veterans. According to an article published by Stripes.com, “burn pits…
