Health answers sought about burned-off war garbage

[unhappycamper]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hHqblUqy-_o9TafwiRpQQPfZ-Ecg?docId=26abc904dbd94a0085ca9a51b49a3cca

Health answers sought about burned-off war garbage
By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press – 23 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — J.D. Williams didn't think much about the smoke cloud that often shrouded his air base in Iraq. Not when it covered everything he owned with black soot or when his wheezing and coughing made it difficult to sleep at night.

~snip~

He returned home from that second stint in Iraq in 2006 and subsequently was diagnosed with an irreversible lung disease that his doctor suspects could be related to smoke from one of the hundreds of burn pits that dotted Iraq and Afghanistan during the course of the two wars. The pits were used to burn off the garbage that accumulates at military bases, everything from Styrofoam and metal to paints, solvents, human waste and medical waste.

~snip~

Military personnel who were stationed near an open burn pit can sign up. Researchers will use the database to monitor health trends in participants, and the VA will alert them to major problems detected.

Over the long term, the findings could make it easier for veterans who served near burn pits to obtain disability payments.