VetXL Q&A Chat: Environmental Exposures and Burn Pits

Thank you for your service to the Nation. Therapies for exposures, which are almost always the same treatments regardless of the cause, are directed at the underlying medical condition. Chelation works in a limited number of cases of heavy metal exposures. VA's Toxic Embedded Fragment Center in Baltimore has done extensive work regarding chleation and is considered to provide expert medical opinons for VA and civilain agencies. Chelation is may caused other problems such as moving heavy metals in the tissues into the bloodstream and this can cause other problems. We suggest you discuss any concerns with your helathcare provider.

Thank you for your service to the Nation. VA encourages you to address your treatment concerns with your local Veterans Experience Office who can assist you in understanding your concerns and helping find a pathway forward for you. Many VA staff are reitred military and many others come from military families. VA does care.

You may now be eligible for disability compensation and other benefits for your bronchitis and sinusitis under the PACT Act. VA encourages you to file a claim. You can file a claim online via VA.GOV or, in person at any regional office, or with an accredited representative.

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The PACT Act is a significant law that expands VA health care and benefits for Veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances and empowers VA to provide generations of Veterans—and their survivors—with the care and benefits they’ve earned and deserve. For more information on the PACT Act, we encourage you to visit va.gov/PACT for more information on all things PACT Act.

The simplest answer to your question is to encourage you to file a claim! The PACT Act expands and extends eligibility for VA health care for Veterans with toxic exposures and Veterans from the Vietnam era, Gulf War era, and Post-9/11 combat Veterans. If you believe that you have a medical condition that was caused by your exposure to toxins, VA encourages you to file a claim. You can file a claim online via VA.GOV or, in person at any regional office, or with an accredited representative.

Thank you for your service to the Nation. At present, there are no known exposures at Fort McClellan leading to long-term health consequences; however, VA has been directed by Congress to investigat expsoure and possible health outcomes related to service at Fort McClellan. VA has a website that discusses the exposure concerns at Fort McClellan: https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/fort-mcclellan/index.asp VA encourages all Veterans who feel their health conditions are related to service to file a claim. This webpage can help instruct you on how to file: https://www.va.gov/disability/how-to-file-claim/

While the PACT Act does not directly address Veterans who served at Fort McClellan, anytime you believe that you have a medical condition that was caused by your military service, VA encourages you to file a claim. You can file a claim online via VA.GOV or, in person at any regional office, or with an accredited representative.

VA assigns a disability rating based on the severity of your disability, which represents how much your disability decreases your overall health and ability to function. We base this rating on the evidence you give us (like a doctor's report or medical test results), the results of a VA claim exam, and other information we may get from other sources (like federal agencies). However, if you believe your condition has worsened, VA encourages you to file a claim for increase.

The PACT Act expands and extends eligibility for VA health care for Veterans with toxic exposures and Veterans of the Gulf War era. While we cannot address your specific scenario in this forum, if you believe that you have a medical condition that was caused by your exposure to toxins, VA encourages you to file a claim. You can file a claim online via VA.GOV or, in person at any regional office, or with an accredited representative.

VA’s regulations provide that a 10 percent disability evaluation will be assigned for hypertension if the diastolic readings are predominantly 100 or more; systolic readings are 160 or more; or continuous medication is required to control hypertension and there is a history of diastolic readings of 100 or more.
VA, in considering a history of blood pressure readings for disability rating purposes, will only consider the blood pressure readings taken at the time of the diagnostic workup that led to a diagnosis of hypertension and the prescription of medication for control. Thus, if your diastolic readings were not predominantly 100 or more at the time of the diagnostic workup before medication was prescribed, a compensable 10 percent disability evaluation would not be authorized by VA’s regulations controlling the disability evaluations for hypertension. However, if the diastolic readings were predominantly 100 or more at the time of the diagnostic workup that resulted in a diagnosis of hypertension and prescription of medication, a 10 percent rating will still be awarded even if there was a longstanding history of normal blood pressure readings prior to the diagnostic workup resulting in a hypertension diagnosis and need for continuous medication for control of the disease.
Please review your historical blood pressure readings before being prescribed medication with your medical provider to determine if you meet the criteria for the compensable evaluation and consider filing a Supplemental Claim so that we may reconsider your disability evaluation based on this information. For more information on these options, please see our website at https://www.va.gov/decision-reviews/supplemental-claim/ or https://www.va.gov/decision-reviews/higher-level-review/.

Thank you for your service. VA is not aware of any long-term effects of gas chamber training in the military. VA encourages all Veterans who feel their health conditions are related to service to file a claim. This webpage can help instruct you on how to file: https://www.va.gov/disability/how-to-file-claim/

While the PACT Act does not address conditions connected to exposure to gas chambers during basic training, anytime you believe that you have a medical condition that was caused by your military service, VA encourages you to file a claim. You can file a claim online via VA.GOV or, in person at any regional office, or with an accredited representative.