Thousands of U.S. military personnel who served on bases in Iraq and
Afghanistan recall the dense black smoke from burn pits where everything
from IEDs to human waste was incinerated.
Now many have died, and more are gravely ill. Those
battling a grim menu of cancers, as well as their loved ones and
advocates, trace their condition to breathing in the toxic fumes they
say could be the most recent wars' version of Agent Orange or Gulf War
Illness.
“The clouds of smoke would just hang throughout the
base,” Army Sgt. Daniel Diaz, who was stationed at Joint Base Balad, in
Iraq's Sunni Triangle from 2004-2005, told FoxNews.com. “No one ever
gave it any thought. You are just so focused on the mission at hand. In
my mind, I was just getting ready for the fight.”
Diaz returned from duty in 2008. A year later, he
started developing health problems including cancer, chronic fatigue and
weakness, neuropathy and hypothyroidism. Nearly every base he was
stationed at during his four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan had burn pits
nearby - and pungent smoke everywhere.
“When I was stationed at Camp Wright, there was one 20-30 feet from
our rooms,” he says. “No one ever questioned whether it was dangerous
having it so close. Not even once.”
During the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, the
burn pit method was adopted originally as a temporary measure to get rid
of waste and garbage generated on bases. Everything was incinerated in
the pits, say soldiers, including plastics, batteries, appliances,
medicine, dead animals and even human waste. The items were often set
ablaze with jet fuel as the accelerant.
Joint Base Balad, where Diaz was partially stationed,
burned up to 147 tons of waste per day as recently as the summer of
2008, according to The Army Times.
The incineration of the waste generated numerous
pollutants including carbon monoxide and dioxide—the same chemical
compound found in Agent Orange, which left many Vietnam vets sick after
it was used as a defoliant.
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