The Biden Administration announced a series of actions Thursday in an effort to help veterans who were exposed to burn pits and other environmental hazards while serving overseas.
On Veteran’s Day, the White House outlined the action steps in a fact sheet that seeks to improve the government's understanding of the health impacts of military-related exposures, educate healthcare providers and veterans about toxic exposure, and “provide a timelier access to health services and benefits for individuals who were exposed.”
The actions are the latest efforts by the government to determine if there are links between burn pits and rare forms of cancer.
Open-air pits were commonly used at U.S. military bases throughout the Iraq and Afghanistan wars -- where dangerous materials including electronics, vehicles, and human waste were regularly soaked in jet fuel and set on fire.
As a result, these burn pits would expose soldiers as toxic fumes and carcinogens spilled into the surrounding air.
The Biden administration's announcement Thursday will now bring several new support options for sick veterans.
New support options for sick veterans include:
The creation of presumptions of exposure in an effort to establish service connections for various chronic conditions and expanded disability benefits based on “presumed exposure to particulate matter.”
In August, the VA began processing disability claims for asthma, rhinitis, and sinusitis on a “presumptive basis” based on “presumed particulate matter exposures.”
The department will now begin applying the data model it developed to determine potential connections between exposures and rare respiratory cancers, lung cancers and constrictive bronchiolitis.
President Joe Biden has directed the VA to complete the review of rare cancers and provide recommendations about new presumptions of service connection within 90 days.
The administration also added it would consider taking additional steps based on the results.
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/3c4BM38
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