US

Pentagon Still Hasn’t Looked At ‘Long-Term Health Issues’ Of Burn Pit

REUTERS/Andrew Burton

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Thomas Phippen Acting Editor-In-Chief
Font Size:

The Pentagon still needs to study the long-term health effects of exposure to the chemicals inhaled over burn pits, the Government Accountability Office said in a report Monday.

In the U.S., open-air burn pits like those the military uses would typically violate clean air restrictions. In the rest of the world, particularly the Middle East, U.S. forces use burn pits for disposal waste — electronics, canvas, plastic, even dead animals and human body parts.

The GAO recommended that the Pentagon study the long-term health affects of burn pits in a 2011 report, but five years later say that there hasn’t been enough progress.

The Department of Defense (D0D) is improving practices to mitigate the risks of exposure to the burn pits, GAO said in its report, but the Pentagon still needs to ensure that “research specifically examines the relationship between direct burn pit exposure and long-term health issues.”

The process of burning trash produces “smoke and harmful emissions that military and other health professionals believe may result in acute and chronic health effects for those exposed to the emissions,” the GAO says, and the DoD agreed in part.

The DoD is aware of short-term effects like “eye irritation and burning, coughing and throat irritation, breathing difficulties, and skin itching and rashes,” but have long denied any permanent or long-term health effects. (RELATED: DOD Used Burn-Pits In Afghanistan Despite Knowing How Dangerous They Are)

The VA also claims that research shows no connection between health problems soldiers report — like asthma, bronchitis and Lou Gherig’s disease — and open-air burn pits.

Both DoD and the VA claim that there is not sufficient data to study the long term effects. GAO agrees that there isn’t sufficient data, but also says, “DoD has not undertaken data-gathering and research efforts to specifically examine this relationship to fully understand any associated health risks.”

Follow Thomas Phippen on Twitter

Send tips to thomas@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.