Ailing Vets Sue, Say Toxic Burn Pits Cost Them Their Health

SSG Norman Lihou — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 10:37:13 -0400

Hundreds of soldiers who've come home from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan now are battling the very companies that helped operate their base camps, claiming constant exposure to toxins from open-air burn pits has wrecked their health.

David Montoya, 44, of Farmington is one of newest litigants suing the companies. Cancer that started in his colon has spread to his lungs, and his doctor told him in February that he had about two years to live. Montoya says the cause of his cancer was contaminated water supplied by the military contractors, and from breathing in smoke from the burn pits.

Montoya filed his lawsuit last week in state District Court in Santa Fe against Halliburton Co., KBR Inc. and Kellogg, Brown & Root Services LLC. In doing so, he joined almost 250 other former and active military personnel who are suing the companies, which provided water treatment and waste disposal services in Iraq and Afghanistan. Two other soldiers from New Mexico, both in poor health, jointly filed a suit against the companies six years ago. At one point, a federal judge in Maryland rejected suits against the military contractors, but an appeals court reversed that decision. With the case alive, soldiers who are dying say they have a chance to shed light on wartime actions that placed profits over people.

Burn pits were part of the American war effort as a means of keeping bases functional. Afire constantly, they burned plastics, metals, chemicals and every form of waste, say soldiers who served at the outposts. Contaminated jet fuel often ignited the burn pits.

Read more:
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/07/27/ailing-vets-sue-say-toxic-burn-pits-cost-them-their-health.html

Hundreds of soldiers who have come home from Iraq and Afghanistan are battling the companies that helped operate their base camps.

Response by LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow made Jul 28 at 2015 12:52 PM

LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 12:52:55 -0400

I hope these turn into a major class action suit. But, sadly, these companies will be protected by the same politicians that sent them to do these things, and nothing will likely happen.

I hope I am surprised in a positive way about the outcome...

Response by CPT Pedro Meza made Jul 28 at 2015 12:55 PM

CPT Pedro Meza — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 12:55:40 -0400

The VA also has a Burn Pit Registry, so I advice all to look into this too, because it court is all about proving facts and the more there is the better.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2015 7:40 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 19:40:34 -0400

I know I developed a cough that hasn't gone away in the past 8 years since my first deployment. I also know that KBR cut corners to save money. Back in 2006 both FOBs I personally lived on (COB Speicher and LSA Anaconda, now called Joint Base-Balad) had functional, although not functioning, incinerators on them to deal with the waste. I asked a KBR management rep why they were not being used and was told that it was because it was cheaper for them to keep the burn pits, which cost virtually nothing to operate, open. KBR and similar companies made billions of dollars, likely hundreds of thousands each day, by taking shortcuts that put soldiers, and many of their own employees, at undue risk.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Aug 1 at 2015 12:48 AM

PO1 John Miller — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 00:48:11 -0400

It's a damn shame that it takes law suits for our veterans to get the recognition and treatment they deserve...

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 6 at 2015 11:33 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 11:33:39 -0500

This is where Preventive Medicine would come in super handy. When those burn pits are active, then Preventive Medicine should have been taking air samples to see what contaminants are in the smoke and air. But if PM was not doing those air samples, then the contracted company for environmental health should have been doing the sampling. And if these samples were taken and tested then the results should be found somewhere. If is was military PM, then US Army public Health Command will have those results. If it was a civilian contractor, then probably OSHA or where ever they were to send the results. Regardless of who did the sampling, then those results should be obtained to help better facilitate bolster the claims of exposure.

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Nov 6 at 2015 12:16 PM

PO3 Steven Sherrill — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 12:16:46 -0500

SGT Christina Wilder what gets me about all of this is that some genius somewhere thought burning waste with diesel anywhere near (like within the same country) where soldiers are living is a good idea. It ranks right up there with using a bloody tuna as a shark repellent. The worst part is that service members are going to first suffer, then die for the lack of foresight. As for help from the VA, they are trying to solve their waiting list problem by letting people die waiting for care. Don't think that they are for one minute going to show any remorse for causing a vet to deteriorate.

Response by LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow made Nov 6 at 2015 12:33 PM

LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 12:33:50 -0500

Wow - SGT Christina Wilder this sounds like a case that needs to be referred to Sen Patty Murray and Sen Maria Cantwell, and Rep. Adam Smith, for a major congressional inquiry...

Response by SSG Michael Scott made Nov 6 at 2015 5:55 PM

SSG Michael Scott — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 17:55:23 -0500

Share our stories and health issues.

Response by SGT Thomas Lucken made Nov 7 at 2015 7:13 AM

SGT Thomas Lucken — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 07:13:06 -0500

Sadly, open burn pits have been going on for a long time! During Desert Storm, also had all fumes from the fires in the oil fields that went along with who knows what else was being cooked!

Uranium rounds used are still a question, not the handling of the rounds but of the vehicles that were cleared by troops after being shot up or the souvenir collectors who had no reason to be in the vehicles!

Vietnam and on the Korean DMZ, burn barrels and I am sure some pits were used all the time in the past!

Response by TSgt Kenneth Ellis made Nov 7 at 2015 8:11 PM

TSgt Kenneth Ellis — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 20:11:32 -0500

I cannot do a screenshot but I down loaded an app from the VA called exposure Ed.

Response by CAPT Hiram Patterson made Nov 8 at 2015 11:21 AM

CAPT Hiram Patterson — Sun, 08 Nov 2015 11:21:59 -0500

I never observed that at all in 05/06 and 07/08.