CONGRESSMEN DEMAND MORE INFO FROM DoD ON "BURN PIT" CLAIMS -- Are asking for data from the military about tumor rates to see if a pattern of problems can be ascertained. -- VA Watchdog dot Org - VA NEWS FLASH

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CONGRESSMEN DEMAND MORE INFO FROM DoD ON "BURN

PIT" CLAIMS -- Are asking for data from the military about tumor

rates to see if a pattern of problems can be ascertained.

For background on the "burn pit" issue, click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/ses
search.php?q=burn+pits&op=ph

Story here... http://politicalticker.blo
gs.cnn.com/2009/02/26/congressmen-
want-more-info-on-burn-pit-claims/

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Congressmen want more info on 'burn pit' claims

From CNN's Adam Levine

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Concerns about the effects of toxins emitted from burning trash at military installations in Iraq and Afghanistan has members of Congress demanding more tests and research from the military to see if there is statistical validity to complaints about illness and disease suffered by troops who have served in those countries.

The emissions, from what are known as 'burn pits,' have been a concern for troops, especially those who served at Balad Air Force Base in Iraq. Many of the soldiers who went through Balad since the beginning of the war had become used to "Iraqi crud," as they dubbed the symptom of excessive coughing and black phlegm. Soldiers complained of respiratory problems and skin infections, and in some cases believed they developed leukemia and tumors from the exposure.

The pits at Balad were at one point open and burning everything from plastics and food to medical waste. In the later years, incinerators were installed at Balad but many other bases in Iraq and Afghanistan still use the pits without incinerators to burn garbage.

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Various tests by the military have concluded that emissions are not harmful, but many — including some members of Congress — remain unconvinced. "After years of helping veterans of the Vietnam and Gulf wars cope with the health effects of toxic battlefields, we have learned that we must take exposures to toxins seriously to ensure that this generation of service members does not face the same difficulties," the congressmen say in the letter to be sent Monday to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.

In the letter, signed by six representatives including Rep. Tim Bishop, D-NY, the congressmen are asking for data from the military about tumor rates to see if a pattern of problems can be ascertained. CNN was given a copy of the letter in advance.

"We are collecting this data in order to help better understand what is happening to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan," the letter explains. "This would help to ensure specific benefits for service members who have been discharged from service if they become disabled because of certain diseases."

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posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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