Veterans advocates on Tuesday launched a new campaign for additional recognition and aid for troops exposed to toxic burn pit fumes during overseas deployments at the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, saying time is running out to provide real help to the victims.
“Listen to these families … Delaying care and waiting for
veterans to die is not a mantle worthy of our country.”
Tuesday’s event coincided with new legislation introduced by
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., which would
provide presumptive benefit status for any veterans who served in Iraq and
Afghanistan during the wars, as well as a host of other overseas military sites
where burn pits were frequently used.
These maps can help you figure out your burn pit exposure risk
It can be tough to get treatment for burn pit exposure, but
this project helps service members and veterans pinpoint the Pentagon documents
that detail their risks.
Advocates for years have criticized the Department of
Veterans Affairs for insisting that individuals prove a direct connection
between the toxic fumes they breathed during deployments and rare cancers and
respiratory illnesses, even though the Defense Department acknowledges little
tracking was done over the years to provide a true accounting of the poisons in
the air.
“Service members are returning from the battlefield only to
become delayed casualties of war,” Ruiz said. “This is the Agent Orange of this
generation … We need to be taking care of our veterans and saving lives.”
As many as 3.5 million veterans could be eligible for the
benefits under the legislation, if they showed signs of serious, uncommon
illnesses believed to be the result of toxic fumes.
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