By now most of us have seen news reports of the Russian attacks on some of Ukraine’s fuel depots. Remember the images of the black clouds that rose above the cities for hours afterward as you continue to read.
On March 3rd, the US House of Representatives voted 256 to 174 for the Honoring Our PACT Act (Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act) to “expand treatment eligibility” for post-9/11 military veterans exposed to burn pits while in the service of our country. 34 Republican members of the House voted with all the Democrats in favor of the bill. Now the bill awaits attention from the U.S. Senate.
Burn pits are massive collections of trash, food, old uniforms, medical wastes, batteries, asbestos, lead paint, amputated body parts, used oil, computers and other devices, trucks, nuclear waste, armaments, ammunition, and ‘metric tons of human feces.’ This is ignited by jet fuel and then ‘stirred’ regularly by the troops, using backhoes and bulldozers. All on or near the bases where they were stationed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, and other places of war.
Just like those hours-long black plumes of smoke in Ukraine, the same thing happens with burn pits. The smoke and flames in Ukraine eventually died down, but toxic smoke and fumes spew forth from burn pits into the surrounding areas, bases, villages, and towns. Which means troops – and townspeople – breathe in the toxins as they work and sleep.
Many veterans return home with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses and diseases. Yet, according to Jon Stewart, former longtime host of ‘The Daily Show’ and now of ‘The Problem with Jon Stewart,’ too many vets can’t get appropriate health care from the VA. Stewart’s new show featured firsthand accounts from five veterans, including a member of the Vermont National Guard who had stage four colon cancer as a result of his proximity to the burn pit at or near the base on which he served in Afghanistan.
In addition to the hellhole of Afghanistan, Staff Sargent Wesley Black (ret.) went through hell trying to get medical tests and procedures to verify the origins of his cancer so that his care would be paid for by the VA. But his VA doctors weren’t convinced his cancer was the result of his proximity to the burn pits – and he and his family suffered more than they should have. If he’d been able to get the help he needed when he needed it, Stewart’s show might not have been ‘In memory of Wesley Black (d. 2021).’
The advocacy group BurnPits360.org is pushing the VA to include proximity to burn pits as an automatic referral to immediate, targeted care for service members and veterans. Why does the VA need to be pushed? They and the Department of Defense released internal memos in 2009 and 2010 about the environmental toxins – including benzenes and dioxins, the same chemicals in Agent Orange – in burn pits. The VA and DOD shouldn’t need to be reminded.
Despite those memos, Stewart reports that “the burden of proof is on the veterans,” and over 70 percent of claimants are denied, while the VA and DOD say the ill vets don’t have proof and that studies are inconclusive. Vets are told symptoms must have started within 12 months of in-country service to be considered, but, like with 9/11 first responders, not all burn pit-related illnesses exhibit symptoms within a year. Meanwhile veterans and their families are going bankrupt from their medical costs.
Jim Binns, chairman of the federal research advisory committee on veterans’ illnesses (2002-2014) says “The government has refused to take responsibility about these ill veterans … [They] have been dodged by the DVA for the last 50 years.” One of the veterans on Stewart’s panel agreed, saying it’s like the VA tells the vets, “Delay, deny, hope you die.”
Stewart calls the situation “outrageous,” and it…
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