Burn pit fallout

[unhappycamper]

Burn pit fallout
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Nov 13, 2008 18:24:46 EST

Disabled American Veterans has issued a call to all service members and veterans who think they may have illnesses related to burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq: Contact DAV so they can collect data and look for trends.

“Anyone out there who thinks they may have had a long-term health effect ... needs to file a complaint” with the Department of Veterans Affairs, said Kerry Baker, DAV’s associate national legislative director.

Noting that it took Vietnam veterans 20 years to gain benefits for exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange, Baker said, “We don’t want to see these guys have to wait 20 years. We want to see Congress act right away.”

He said service members should be alert for respiratory-related problems, such as allergies, sleep apnea, trouble breathing, asthma and lymphocytic leukemia, as well as skin diseases. Of the 300 to 400 disability cases Baker said he has personally reviewed since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, he said 30 percent potentially could be linked to the burn pits. He said he’s amazed by the numbers of troops reporting sleep apnea.

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., also has demanded an investigation in an Oct. 31 letter to Army Gen. David Petraeus, the new chief of U.S. Central Command.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/military_burnpit_complaints_111308w/%2e