VetXL Q&A Chat: Environmental Exposures and Burn Pits

VA cannot speak to your specific claim situation in this forum due to privacy issues. However, VA encourages all Veterans if you believe you have a service connected disability to file a claim. Please contact our national call center for specific guidance at [login to see] or schedule an appointment online at https://vets.force.com/VAVERA/s/

Thank your for your service and question. An excellent review of Moyamoya disease is on the mayoclinic.org website. It notes that genetic factors may be a cause. VA encourages any Veteran who believes that military service has negatively impacted their health to submit a claim.

Without more information, we would be unable to address your question. However, if you believe your conditions are due to exposure to toxins while on active duty, you're encouraged to file a claim. When a Veteran files a claim for a condition that is not an established presumptive for a location not identified in the PACT Act, VA would follow the same procedure of obtaining and reviewing evidence. However, this may also include requesting a medical opinion in conjunction with the exam request, to help determine if the current diagnosed condition is associated with the claimed in-service event.

Thank you for your service and question. VA encourages any Veteran who believes that military service has negatively impacted their health to submit a claim. You can find more information on Trichloroethylene (TCE) at the VA website: https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/solvents/index.asp and at the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts19.pdf# Surprisingly, long ago, it was used for anesthesia. The PACT Act does not address these exposures.

VA encourages Veterans who believe their military service has negatively impacted their health to submit a claim. Polycystic Kidney disease is not a presumption in the PACT Act and your claim would be reviewed for possible service connection.

You are encouraged to file a claim. If a Veteran served in any of these locations and time periods, VA has determined they had exposure to burn pits or other toxins. This is having a presumption of exposure. On or after September 11, 2001, in any of these locations: Afghanistan, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Uzbekistan, Yemen, and the airspace above any of these locations. Veterans and their dependents are encouraged to visit VA’s PACT Act website at https://www.va.gov/resources/the-pact-act-and-your-va-benefits/. Veterans can utilize links on the site to submit claims, and address any questions to maximize their entitlement related to the act’s recent passage.

Thanks you for your questions and service. Regarding your question about a chest CT : VA follows national guidelines and these guidelines are for smokers with significant smoking histories. Evidence is lacking recommend low dose CT scan for non-smokers, regardless of exposure. VA encourages Veterans who believe that military service has negatively impacted their health to submit a claim. Asbestos in walls and tiles: If asbestos is embedded in insulation or other building materials but not disturbed by renovation or demolition, it can cause no harm. It is dangerous if it is being broken up into finer dust etc. All of us have uranium in our bodies; the concern would be depleted uranium. If you would like to get an assay to look for the isotopic signature for depleted uranium (DU),please contact your locate environmental health coordinator listed at: https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/coordinators.asp to get a DU test. for more information on DU please visit: https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/depleted_uranium/index.asp

While VA cannot speak to your specific claim situation in this forum due to privacy issues and this question is very specific to your individual records, you may be eligible for disability benefits if you meet certain criteria and were in contact with ionizing radiation while serving in the military. Please reach out to us at [login to see] so that a claims representative can review the records you are referencing and possibly provide you with context or an explanation.

Thanks your service and question. VA encourages Veterans who feel that their health was negatively impacted by their military service to submit a claim. Thank you for your question and your service. While the exact cause of Grovers' Disease us unknown possible triggers include: increased sweating, fever, sun exposure, dry skin (especially in winter), medications, organ transplants, kidney disease/dialysis, exposure to radiation/such as X-rays, cancer, chemotherapy, and recent organ transplants. Schimberg's disease causes discoloration of the lower extremities. It is caused by leaky blood vessels near the surface of the skin. The cause is unknown.

The PACT Act establishes presumptions of service connection for broad categories of conditions related to exposure to burn pits and certain other toxins. Even if you're not sure if your specific condtion is covered under the PACT Act, VA encourages you to file a claim now and we will make the determination when we review your claim.

Thank you for your service and question. Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) is a very common condition. 11 National Academies Reports on Veterans and Agent Orange did not find a relationship with Agent Orange exposure. VA encourages Veterans who feel that their health was negatively impacted by their military service to submit a claim. Thank you for your question and your service.

Thank you for your service. You can find more information about the Atsugi Waste Incinerator here. https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/sand-dust-particulates/atsugi.asp. VA encourages Veterans who feel that their health was negatively impacted by their military service to submit a claim. Thank you for your question and your service.

Japan is not included as a location for presumptive conditions related to burn pit exposure under PACT Act. However, if you believe that you have a condition that is related to exposure to burn pits or other toxins, you are encouraged to file a claim.

VA cannot speak to your specific claim situation in this forum due to privacy issues. If we denied your claim in the past but we now consider your condition presumptive, we encourage you to file a Supplemental Claim. We'll review the claim again. Please contact our National Call Center for claim specific assistance at [login to see] or you can schedule an appointment with a local Regional Office at VERA - Home (force.com). For more information on the PACT Act and how you can apply for benefits, see VA.gov/PACT

The PACT Act legislation regarding burn pits is specifically aimed at the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations and covers as presumption chronic sinusitis, Sudi Arabia is one of the covered locations. VA encourages Veterans who feel that their health was negatively impacted by their military service to submit a claim. Thank you for your question and your service.

Thank you for your question and service. VA encourages Veterans who feel that their health was negatively impacted by their military service to submit a claim. Skin cancers can be caused by environmental exposures and also sun exposure. We would advise you to talk to your healthcare provider about possible causes and how to prevent (as much as possible) more potential skin cancers.

The PACT Act specifies presumptive locations and periods of service for Veterans exposed to toxins. If you were not deployed to one of those specific locations during the periods of service indicated, in order to establish entitlement to service-connected compensation there must be evidence of (1) an in-service event, (2) evidence of a current disability and (3) a link between the two. When VA recognizes a condition to be presumptively related to an in-service event, the presumption establishes the needed link. This means VA grants on a presumptive basis if you meet the criteria of the in-service event and have a diagnosed condition recognized to be related to that in-service event.
When a Veteran files a claim for a condition that is not an established presumptive for a location not identified in the PACT Act, VA would follow the same procedure of obtaining and reviewing evidence. However, this may also include requesting a medical opinion in conjunction with the exam request, to help determine if the current diagnosed condition is associated with the claimed in-service event.

While VA cannot speak to your specific claim situation in this forum due to privacy issues and this question is very specific to your individual records, you may be eligible for disability benefits if you meet certain criteria and were in contact with ionizing radiation while serving in the military. Please reach out to us at [login to see] so that a claims representative can review the records you are referencing and possibly provide you with context or an explanation.

The PACT Act legislation regarding burn pits is specifically aimed at the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations . VA encourages Veterans who feel that their health was negatively impacted by their military service to submit a claim. Thank you for your question and your service.