Burn pits were large ground pits during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, where government contractors burned waste such as batteries, medical waste, rubber, plastics, ammunition and unexploded ordnance, human waste, amputated body parts and more, according to Burn Pits 360, a nonprofit advocacy organization. Veterans exposed to burn pits have suffered from neurological disorders, pulmonary diseases and rare forms of cancer.
A 2006 Air Force memo called one burn pit in Iraq "the worst environmental site I have personally visited." "It is amazing that the burn pit has been able to operate without restrictions over the past few years," the memo read, recommending use of incinerators instead. Burn pit usage continued until the mid-2010s.
The Veterans Administration has said that burning waste in open pits creates more hazards than controlled high-temperature burning in a commercial incinerator. Toxins may affect the skin, eyes, respiratory and cardiovascular systems, gastrointestinal tract and internal organs. The Military Times has reported some 3.5 million veterans in recent wars have been exposed to enough toxic chemicals to cause health problems.
The recently passed Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022 guarantees VA medical care to veterans who "participated in a toxic exposure risk activity," or served in specific locations where burn pit exposure was common. It will make it easier for veterans to establish presumptions of service-connection for illnesses that may be related to burn pit exposure, and will also incorporate a clinical questionnaire at VA primary care providers to determine potential toxic exposure.
Reid Forgrave covers Minnesota and the Upper Midwest for the Star Tribune, particularly focused on long-form storytelling, controversial social and cultural issues, and the shifting politics around the Upper Midwest. He started at the paper in 2019.
reid.forgrave@startribune.com612-673-4647
