VetXL Q&A Chat: Environmental Exposures and Burn Pits

I was in the the Navy ABE catapults. Had lots of exposure to jet fuel, exhaust and chemicals below decks cleaning the water break tanks. Now I have shortness of breath, dizziness, sleep apnea etc. Do I qualify for PACT?

I was in the USAF. Has there been any disability claims for cleaning agents MEK or Tricholorothane? We used these extensively to clean aircraft parts and I'm having mild hand and skin deformities. Thanks in advance.

I have been stationed or TDY to the following locations. Edgewood Arsenal MD, Anniston Army Depot, Ft. McCellan AL and Lexington-Blue Grass Army Depot. I worked on the DATS project at both depots. I was also have been on Site and the bunkers at the 636 Ord Co. (EOD) while assigned to the 763 Medical Detachment Muenchweiler & Classen Germany. While at Edgewood I participated in several burn pits. I have had several cancers, numerous ankle, foot, shoulder and knee surgeries.

I was in both Idaho and Washington national guard. Worked in Gowan Field, Walla Walla, and Yakima. After ETS, I worked for a utility company that served Stafford Creek prison. Any chance I came across a burn pit?

I have been diagnosed with Sarcoidosis & served a full tour in Vietnam & was exposed to Agent Orange, Burn Pits, & God only knows what bacteria & fungus in the jungles. Never smoked in my life, & was never around any fungicides or herbicides in civilian life & no one in my family was ever diagnosed for having Sarcoidosis. Why doesn't the VA accept Sarcoidosis as being military related from serving in Vietnam & now with all of the respiratory findings from Ft. Ord, CA which I served for 6 months prior to being deployed to Vietnam.

I served in Vietnam & Cambodia during 1969 - 1970 in the artillery on 155mm SP howitzers. Each morning one of my duties was to take the unused white-bag and green-bag powder and carry them outside of our firebase and burn that powder. Very often I would be downwind of the fire and inhale
that chemical smoke. Also, there were other occasions that I would be around fires including when dead bodies and partial bodies of VC and/or NVA and other debris were burned after a firebase had been overrun. Does this qualify me for this fire pit compensation? Sgt. Kevin Coleman, B Battery, 1st Bn, 27th Arty.

Are occupational environmental exposure(s) covered under the PACT Act?
I started training as a Medical Laboratory Tech Jan 1981 and retired as a Med Lab Tech in 2006. We didn’t have gloves, lab coats, face/splash shields or chemical/biological safety hoods. It wasn’t until HIV & AIDS came along that personal protective equipment (PPE) was made available or required. Just as those who were unknowingly exposed to Agent Orange, burn pits, and asbestos, I and others were repeatedly in direct contact with vapors, aerosols, powders, and liquid chemicals* now known to have detrimental consequences to health.

I’ve had cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions removed from my face, breast and other. I’ve developed nodules/fibroids some requiring surgical removal.

* Items such as, but limited to:
Acetone
Ethyl Acetate
Methanol
Formaldehyde and Formalin
Phenol
Xylene
Acetic Acid
Benzocaine Acid
Glacial Acetic Acid
Perchloric Acid
Sulfanilic Acid
Hydrochloric Acid
Mercury
ortho-Toluidine
Toluene
Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA)
Asbestos

Was stationed at Camp Carrol, Korea in 88. During MWD training we were required to swim across a swamp (against our request not to due to the sludges present) that was obviously full of some chemical. It had a bad smell and an oily residue. Recently, I learned that exact area was a dumping ground for agent orange. According to several news articles hundreds of drums of it was buried at that part of the post. Has the Army done anything for the soldiers and civilians that were exposed to it there?

I took water samples from ground water and sediment in contaminated areas along the DMZ in Korea starting 7 months after the "Presumptive Period" ended, as specified in the PACT Act. How does VA treat Soldiers like me who were unknowingly exposed to Agent Orange after August 31, 1971?

What about burn pits that were used at military installations installations in the United States? Does the Act cover those locations? Will the VA address exposure?