Washington (CNN)A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Thursday
released a collection of newly declassified Defense Department documents
indicating that US troops who were deployed to a Central Asian base in the wake
of the 9/11 attacks were likely exposed to a dangerous mix of toxins and other
hazards, which some believe has led to increased cancer rates among US service
members stationed there.
The base in question was a former Soviet military
installation called Karshi-Khanabad air base in southern Uzbekistan, often
referred to as "K2," which served as a key logistical hub for US
forces during the campaign to target al Qaeda and the Taliban in neighboring
Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
Thousands of American troops were stationed there from 2001
until 2005, when Uzbekistan's then-President Islam Karimov ejected US personnel
from the country following US criticism of his government's crackdown on
protesters and its human rights record.
The documents released Thursday by the House Oversight
Committee's Subcommittee on National Security include the 2001, 2002 and 2004
environmental hazard surveys and health risk assessments that the Defense
Department carried out on the base.
One survey from 2001 says the soil around the base was
contaminated with jet fuel, and that "inhalation of vapors from exposed,
subsurface fuel contaminated soils could potentially cause adverse health
effects to personnel ... if sufficient exposure circumstances occur,"
recommending a prohibition against digging into soil contaminated with jet
fuel.
A military health assessment from 2004 found that although
"less than 10% of personnel will experience [radiation] exposures above
background" at the camp, "the potential for daily contact with
radiation exists for up to 100% of the assigned units."
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