Burn pit

A burn pit refers to an area of a deployed military base devoted to open-air combustion of waste. The phrase "burn pit" gained notoriety in the 21st century, especially in U.S. military sites in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, this practice was used well before the War on Terror (2001 to present). Proper waste management practices have reduced the spread of infectious diseases that contributed significantly to mortality and morbidity in military populations in based conflicts.[1] According to the US Army field manual, there are four other ways, outside of burn pits, to dispose of nonhazardous solid waste: incinerators, burial, landfills, and tactical burial.[2] Using open-air burning significantly reduces waste, but increase risk of fire and produces noxious fumes.[1] Due to modern waste in deployed environments, there is plastic (including water bottles), shipping materials, electronic waste, and other material that may emit toxic aerial compounds. Burn pits were heavily criticized and resulted in lawsuit by veterans, Department of Defense Civilians, and military contractors. Global environmental consciousness has especially criticized these instances of large-scale burn pit operation.[3] The effects of burn pits seem to be similar to that of fire debris cleanup.[4]

Waste burning in the 1st Marine Division Support Area in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War in 1991.

Use in Iraq and Afghanistan

Since the start of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars in 2001, military bases throughout the region used burn pits as a way to dispose of waste.[5] These locations include Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Djibouti, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, and Red Sea. In 2010, large-scale burn pit operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, allegedly operated by the U.S. military or its contractors such as KBR, were reported to have allowed the operation of the burn pits for long periods, burning many tons of assorted waste. Active duty personnel reported respiratory difficulties and headaches in some cases, while some veterans made disability claims based on respiratory system symptoms allegedly derived from the burn pits.[6] General David Petraeus, commander, US Central Command and Multi-National Force-Iraq, stated commanders' concerns were about basic needs (food and water) of the soldiers under his command and not burn pits, at the time.[7] The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction found burn pits to be indefensible because its (burn pits) emission are potentially harmful to US servicemembers.[8]

The materials burned and combustion products

It has been reported the waste burned using burn pits were, chemicals, paints, medical waste, human waste, metal and aluminum products, electronic waste, munitions (to include unexploded ordnances), petroleum products, lubricants, plastics, rubber, wood, and food waste. A typical burn pit used jet fuel (usually JP-8) as the accelerant.[9] This type of materials being burned created clouds of black smoke resulted.[6] According to an Air Force fact sheet, "Burning solid wastes in an open pit generates numerous pollutants. These pollutants include dioxins, particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, hexachlorobenzene, and ash. Highly toxic dioxins, produced in small amounts in almost all burning processes, can be produced in elevated levels with increased combustion of plastic waste (such as discarded drinking water bottles) and if the combustion is not at high incinerator temperatures. Inefficient combustion of medical or latrine wastes can emit disease-laden aerosols." Hexachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (colloquially known as dioxin) is the same chemical found in Agent Orange used in the Vietnam War. Additionally, burn pits also created particulate matter (PM) 2.5 and PM 10 pollution, as well. Below is a table that has all of the known pollutants that were discovered in burn pits.[10]

1,2,3,4,7,8-HexaCDD acenaphthylene (ACY) chrysene (CHR)
1,2,3,7,8,9-HexaCDD anthracene (ANT) dibenz[a,h]anthracene (DBahA)
1,2,3,7,8-PentaCDD benz[a]anthracene (BaA) fluoranthene (FLT)
10 furans benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) fluorene (FLU)
17 PAHs benzo[b]fluoranthene (BbF) indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (IP)
2,3,7,8-TetraCDD benzo[e]pyrene (BeP) Naphthalene
7 dioxins, 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HeptaCDD benzo[g,h,i]perylene (BghiP) OctaCDD
acenaphthene (ACE) benzo[k]fluoranthene (BkF), pyrene (PYR)

Examples
Service member disposing of uniforms.[11]

Joint Base Balad (JBB), the largest U.S. base in Iraq had a burn pit operation as late as the summer of 2008, burning 147 tons of waste per day when the Army Times published a major story about it and about health concerns. The burn pit at JBB was 10-acres and the waste produced by each person assigned to JBB is estimated to be between 3.6-4.5 kg of waste per day.[12] An Air Force spokesman speaking for the 609th Combined Air and Space Operations Center Southwest Asia vigorously contested allegations of health effects and emphasized mitigation efforts.[13] In Afghanistan, at its peak, more than 400 tons of waste was disposed using burn pits daily.[14]

According to Leon Russell Keith, a military contractor stationed at Balad who testified at a Senate hearing in 2009, ash was everywhere, including on beds and clothes. He described the thick black smoke was even in the barracks. The ash permanently stain sheets. One soldier described the smoke as thick “like San Francisco fog.” Another called it “pollen dust.” The color of the smoke could be blue and black, or yellow and orange. However, it was mostly black. Everyone inhaled and ingested it. It was absorbed by their skin.[15]

Duration

The burn pits were allegedly adopted as a temporary measure but remained open long after alternative methods of disposal such as incineration were available. After some years the American military did adopt other methods.[6] Burn pits were used during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.[7] As of July 2019, there are still 9 sanctioned burn pits in operations in Syria, Afghanistan and Egypt. Per the DoD, this is a last resort when no feasible alternative exists. For longer term enduring location, conventional solid waste practices are used.[16]

Health effects

On August 6, 2009, President Barack Obama directed that the federal agencies use the best science regarding burn pits to protect US military personnel and then have military commanders implement recommendations to protect those under their command.[17]

Anthony Szema, MD, Stony Brook School of Medicine, stated, humans exposed to air pollution, especially particulate matter (PM) have high risk of death and lung disease, i.e. premature emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Benzene (component of JP-8)I s a known carcinogen and when that is the accelerant in a burn pit the products. Since the burn pits are at low heat, more particles are generate and is dangerous. Also when plastic bottles are burned it produces a neurotoxin called n-Hexane.[18]

In November 2009, the Veteran's Administration (VA) and the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine (IOM) began an 18-month study to determine the long-term health effects of exposure to the burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. The VA and the Department of Defense (DoD), the Board on the Health of Select Populations of the Institute of Medicine formed the Committee on Long-term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and Afghanistan which held its first meeting February 23/24, 2010 in Washington, D.C.[19] In 2011, the Institute of Medicine reviewed the scientific literature related to the possibility of adverse long-term health effects of open burn pits. The report, Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and Afghanistan[20] noted U.S. Department of Defense air quality monitoring.g data measured levels of particulate matter (PM) higher than generally considered safe by U.S. regulatory agencies. It also cited work linking high PM levels to cardiopulmonary effects, particularly in individuals at increased risk due to pre-existing conditions such as asthma and emphysema. They concluded that there is only limited evidence suggestive "of an association between exposure to combustion products and reduced pulmonary function in these populations." If there is sufficient evidence of a connection between exposure to burn pits and subsequent illness and disability, it might serve as the basis for congressional enactment of a "presumption of service connection" similar to that in place for exposure to Agent Orange.

Currently, there has been research in the following areas to determine exposure to burn pit and health effects:

  • Reproductive Health Outcomes: There is some research to suggested that toxins from burn pits can have adverse birth outcomes (low birth weight, preterm delivery, and increased risk of birth defects. Additionally, there is growing evidence to suggest a reduction in sperm quality associated with burn pits.[21]
  • Autoimmune Disorders: The US Army Public Health Center has noted a some toxins associated with burn pits to suppressed the antibody response.[22] Additionally, the immune system can become hypersensitivity to the toxins (toxicants).
  • Cancers: It is believed one veteran's fatal pancreatic cancer is associated with burn pit exposure.[8] Another veteran is believed to have brain cancer from the exposure.[23] One study using Burn Pits 360's registry, there is a higher rate of proportionate cancer mortality among deceased veterans.[24]
  • High Blood Pressure: A study from the Veterans Affairs Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, one-third those exposed to burn pits were diagnosed with high blood pressure.[25]
  • Respiratory Disorders: The Veterans Affairs Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, 30% of participates have been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.[25]

Veterans Affairs Registry

The Veterans Affairs Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry[26] established in 2014 of to gather information[27] about veterans and service members collected through a question regarding exposure to burn pits air. Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn or 1990-1991 Gulf War veterans and service members can use the registry questionnaire to report exposures to airborne hazards (such as smoke from burn pits, oil-well fires, or pollution during deployment), as well as other exposures and health concerns.

Reports on the registry data:

1. Report on Data from the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit (AH&OBP) Registry, June 2015[28] - Between April 25, 2014, and December 31, 2014, nearly thirty thousand Veterans and Active Duty Servicemembers filled out the registry survey. This report highlights health conditions and physical limitations experienced by burn pit registry participants.

  • The most common doctor-diagnosed health problems reported were insomnia and neurological problems.
  • Other commonly diagnosed health problems reported include allergies, high blood pressure, and lung disease like emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and asthma.
  • It is important to remember that Registry findings alone can't tell if exposure to burn pits, dust storms, or other hazards caused these health conditions.

2. Report on Data from the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit (AH&OBP) Registry, April 2015[29]

As of December 31, 2019, 186,051 veterans and active duty members have completed the questionnaire since June 2014.

Proposed health tracking

US Army veteran and University of Pennsylvania graduate student, Chad Baer, has vocally asserted that claims of inclusive results are due to faulty research design. Baer was selected as a SVA/VFW Legislative Fellow in 2019, and traveled to Capitol Hill to advocate for a predictive analytics model. Baer has asserted that technological advances have made longitudinal studies of all veterans feasible, except that this is not possible so long as the Department of Defense refuses to give VA researchers more complete data. The data in question would be the personnel data that would allow the VA to establish "clusters", based on items such as physical location, job specialties, or other relevant data points.[30] [31] [32]

Legislative response

A Minnesota mother, Amie Muller, was a victim of the exposure and her senator, Amy Klobuchar (MN-DFL), carried a bill called the “Helping Vets Exposed to Burn Pits Act”[33] that was passed and signed into law by President Donald Trump (as H.R. 5895) on September 21, 2018.[34] Through 2019, it will provide $5 million for burn pit research, education and evaluation of the exposure of other U.S. service members and veterans to burn pits and toxic airborne chemicals.[35]

Congressional Action

  • 2009 – HR 2419, Military Personnel War Zone Toxic Exposure Prevention Act
  • 2013 – President Obama signed National Burn Pit Registry into law as part of the Dignified Burial and Veterans' Benefit Improvement Act of 2012
  • 2018 – President Trump signed Helping Vets Exposed to Burn Pits Act.

References
  1. Read "Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and Afghanistan" at NAP.edu.
  2. Department of the Army (2015). Field Hygiene and Sanitation (TC 4-02.3). https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/tc4_02x3.pdf.CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. "Burn Pits". publichealth.va.gov. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 2011. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  4. Naeher, Luke P.; Brauer, Michael; Lipsett, Michael; Zelikoff, Judith T.; Simpson, Christopher D.; Koenig, Jane Q.; Smith, Kirk R. (January 2007). "Woodsmoke Health Effects: A Review". Inhalation Toxicology. 19 (1): 67–106. doi:10.1080/08958370600985875. ISSN 0895-8378. PMID 17127644.
  5. "Thousands of veterans fear "burn pits" exposed them to lethal disease". www.cbsnews.com.
  6. "Veterans Sound Alarm Over Burn-Pit Exposure" article by James Risen in The New York Times August 6, 2010, accessed August 7, 2010
  7. News, 3 Sep 2018 Fox (2018-09-03). "Petraeus: US Has 'Sacred Obligation' to Help Burn-Pit Veterans". Military.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  8. August 17, CBS News; 2019; Am, 10:56. "Thousands of veterans fear "burn pits" exposed them to lethal disease". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2020-04-16.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. Administration, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health. "Burn Pits - Public Health". www.publichealth.va.gov. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  10. Masiol, Mauro; Mallon, COL Timothy M.; Haines, Kevin M.; Utell, Mark J.; Hopke, Philip K. (August 2016). "Source Apportionment of Airborne Dioxins, Furans, and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons at a United States Forward Operating Air Base During the Iraq War". Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 58 (8 Suppl 1): S31–S37. doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000000759. ISSN 1076-2752. PMC 4978146. PMID 27501102.
  11. Rempfer, Kyle (2018-02-20). "Burn pits downrange caused lung disease in service members, court rules". Army Times. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  12. Aurell, Johanna; Gullett, Brian K.; Yamamoto, Dirk (2012-10-16). "Emissions from Open Burning of Simulated Military Waste from Forward Operating Bases". Environmental Science & Technology. 46 (20): 11004–11012. doi:10.1021/es303131k. ISSN 0013-936X. PMID 22992062.
  13. "Burn pit at Balad raises health concerns: Troops say chemicals and medical waste burned at base are making them sick, but officials deny risk" article by Kelly Kennedy in Army Times Oct 29, 2008, accessed August 7, 2010
  14. Vlahos, Kelley Beaucar (14 February 2015). "'Indefensible': Report reveals extent of 'burn pit' pollution inhaled by US troops in Afghanistan". Fox News. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  15. Percy, Jennifer (2016-11-22). "The Things They Burned". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  16. Myers, Meghann (2019-07-12). "Why DoD is still using burn pits, even while now acknowledging their danger". Military Times. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  17. "Defense.gov News Article: Officials Work to Resolve 'Burn Pit' Smoke Issues". archive.defense.gov. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  18. "Did military burn pits make soldiers sick?". PBS NewsHour. 2014-11-17. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  19. First Meeting of the Committee on the Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and Afghanistan Keck Center of the National Academies, accessed August 8, 2010
  20. Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and Afghanistan, accessed July 9, 2015 Archived May 31, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  21. Conlin, Ava Marie S.; DeScisciolo, Connie; Sevick, Carter J.; Bukowinski, Anna T.; Phillips, Christopher J.; Smith, Tyler C. (June 2012). "Birth Outcomes Among Military Personnel After Exposure to Documented Open-Air Burn Pits Before and During Pregnancy". Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 54 (6): 689–697. doi:10.1097/JOM.0b013e31824fe154. ISSN 1076-2752. PMID 22517496.
  22. Jones, Kelly A.; Smith, Besa; Granado, Nisara S.; Boyko, Edward J.; Gackstetter, Gary D.; Ryan, Margaret A.K.; Phillips, Christopher J.; Smith, Tyler C. (June 2012). "Newly Reported Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis in Relation to Deployment Within Proximity to a Documented Open-Air Burn Pit in Iraq". Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 54 (6): 698–707. doi:10.1097/JOM.0b013e3182529799. ISSN 1076-2752. PMID 22588476.
  23. Steinhauer, Jennifer (2019-02-12). "Congress Poised to Help Veterans Exposed to 'Burn Pits' Over Decades of War". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  24. Chiaramonte, Perry (2018-11-20). "Burn-pit exposure likely leads to higher cancer mortality rate among Army vets: new study". Fox News. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  25. Kime, Patricia (2017-08-08). "New burn pit report: Lung disease, high blood pressure common in exposed vets". Military Times. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  26. "Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry". veteran.mobilehealth.va.gov.
  27. "Burn pits at US bases in Iraq, Afghanistan blamed for veterans' illnesses". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  28. http://www.publichealth.va.gov/docs/exposures/va-ahobp-registry-data-report-june2015.pdf
  29. http://www.publichealth.va.gov/docs/exposures/va-ahobp-registry-data-report-april2015.pdf
  30. "VFW and SVA Announce 2019 Student Veteran Fellowship Class". www.vfw.org.
  31. "Penn Researcher, Congressman Want Better Records, Medical Care for Burn Pit Exposure Overseas".
  32. Ochroch, Claire. "This Penn student created a registry that identifies veterans with similar health issues". www.thedp.com.
  33. "A courageous battle on the homefront". mysite-1.
  34. "President Donald J. Trump Signs H.R. 5895 into Law". The White House.
  35. "Bill to Fund Military, Veterans, Clean Energy Programs Passes". Big Island Now | Bill to Fund Military, Veterans, Clean Energy Programs Passes.

Further reading
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