VetXL Q&A Chat: Environmental Exposures and Burn Pits

Stationed at Ft McClellan, AL. In 83, and again in 87, it’s now a superfund site and the drinking water and everywhere we went to the field was highly contaminated with chemicals and chemical weapons. What is the DOD doing for service members who were exposed to these chemicals with and without health issues?

Why does the Va encourage claims for Agent Orange , only to reject them? I submitted a claim for presumtative High blood pressure based on VA recommendation (viet Nam vet) I am taking hbp medication to control hbp. It was determined 0 percent disability because I didn't have higher then 160 more then once since taking the medication??. Of course I do not .that is what the medication does , it lowers hpb. I do not want charity. What I do want is for the VA to start to hire competent claims people so that deserving Vets get rightful disability compensation . The entire disability process needs some serious process management improvement.

What is being done about those who were at Ft McClellan? It was closed due to being a toxic waste dump and many are very sick from the exposure.

Hello.
My name is Rod. I am a Vietnam era veteran and have suffered from several cancers and a low white blood cell disease that I feel could very easily be related to the Agent Orange and DDT insecticides sprayed on our Air Force bases when I was in Southeast Asia. I would very much like to know how to pursue this question of benefits at this late stage in my life. All my medical records are with the VA, so it would be easy to check and see if these toxic exposures are related. Any help is much appreciated.

My husband had Glioblastoma and was near burn pits twice as he served in Iraq. We tried to get this under his VA Disability but ws denied. Now that he passed 2021 it becomes as a disabiility. Is there a claim where I can request payment.. He was a 20yr veteran.

In Vietnam, my living space was approx. 800 feet from a burn pit, which burned mostly materials from the latrine. Do I have any reason to be concerned?

Is Agent Orange for peripheral neuropathy covered by the Pact Act? And does the one year time limit to report it still in effect?

Excellent post. Thank You for sharing this. Are the questions supposed to be posting within this post?

Within a year of returning from a tour of duty in Iraq, I was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation. I was stationed at LSA Anaconda in Balad Iraq. Is this considered a presumptive condition and would it be covered by the PACT Act?

Since my time in Iraq, starting in 2003, I have had symptoms that are described with Burn Pit Exposure. Until the PACT Act educated many of us, I suspect many Veterans did not receive compensation for these symptoms when we separated from service. I listed these symptoms on my initial VA exam in 2009 as daily problems, and all were denied. How do we play catch up? I retired in 2009 after 36 months in Iraq and 16 months in Afghanistan. I have daily symptoms of eye twitching, headaches, sinus inflammation, chronic cough and fatigue. Most of us were "sick" all the time when deployed, but did our job. We all just assumed it was a cold or normal deployment crud... Now it is worse every day...thanks for your help.