VetXL Q&A Chat: Environmental Exposures and Burn Pits

Thank you for your service and question. The PACT ACT burn pit legislation is specifically aimed at the burn pits in Southwest Asia and does not include any other location. The environment in the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations is also unique in the amounts of particulate matter (dust) in the air. VA encourages Veterans who feel that military services has negatively impacted their health to submit a claim.

Honduras is not included as a location for conditions related to burn pit exposure. The PACT Act specifies presumptive locations for Veterans exposed to toxins. However, if you believe you have a service connected disability, VA encourages all Veterans 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 you for your service and question. The PACT ACT burn pit legislation is specifically aimed at the burn pits in Southwest Asia and does not include any other location. The environment in the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations is also unique in the amounts of particulate matter (dust) in the air. VA encourages Veterans who feel that military services has negatively impacted their health to submit a claim.

Haiti is not included as a location for conditions related to burn pit exposure. The PACT Act specifies presumptive locations for Veterans exposed to toxins. However, if you believe you have a service connected disability, VA encourages all Veterans 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/

We would encourage you to file a claim. You may be eligible for VA disability benefits if you have a health condition that's caused by exposure to Agent Orange and you served in a location that exposed you to Agent Orange. Unfortunately, we are unable to answer questions specific to your individual claim in this forum due to privacy issues. Please contact our national call center for claim specific assistance at [login to see] for the status of your claim and so we may provide individual assistance. For more information on the PACT Act and how you can apply for benefits, see VA.gov/PACT. 

Thank you for your service. Prostate Cancer is an Agent Orange presumption and we encourage you to submit a claim. A VSO such as VVA or VFW ma be able to assist you and certainly VBA is here to assist.

Thank you for your service and question. The PACT Act has legislated a fuels exposure study. There is no definitive research on the topic at this time. There is no evidence of harm from the anthrax vaccine. National Academy reports have not linked nerve agent prevention pills to Gulf War Illness. Some people have proposed a link to Guf War Illness, but the overall consensus of research is these nerve agent prevention pills did not cause Gulf War illness. Here is some more information related to fuels: https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/fuels/index.asp. Here is information related to anthrax vaccine: https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/vaccinations-medications.asp. Here is information related to nerve agent pills: https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/sources/pyridostigmine-bromide.asp. Here is more information related to pesticides: https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/sources/pesticides.asp It is unlikely that after 30 years you will get Gulf War Illness. VA encourages Veterans who believe that military service has negatively impacted their health to submit a claim.

Thank you for this inquiry. Please accept our deepest condolences for the loss of your father. We would encourage your mother to file a claim for survivor's benefits. We can provide some general information about the available survivor benefits. Survivors, dependents or parents may be eligible for VA benefits based on the PACT Act. They will need to meet requirements for each benefit to qualify. Survivors, dependents or parents may be eligible for the following benefits:  VA dependency and indemnity compensation (VA DIC) offers a monthly payment. Survivors may be eligible if they’re the surviving spouse, dependent child, or parent of a Veteran who died from a service-connected disability.  Accrued benefits offer a one-time payment. Survivors may be eligible if they are the surviving spouse or dependent child or dependent parent of a Veteran who we owed benefits but that were unpaid at the time of their death. Health care through the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) may be available for survivors and dependents of Veterans who are now, or who would have been, eligible for a service-connected disability. Burial allowance  offers help with the Veteran’s burial and funeral costs. You may be eligible if you’re the Veteran’s surviving spouse, partner, child, or parent. For more information on the PACT Act, see VA.gov/PACT. 

Thanks your service and question. The PACT Act does not address this issue.

Exposure to PCBs is not specifically addressed in the PACT Act.

Thank you for your service and question. You should first establish a diagnosis with your provider and then you may decide to file a claim to establish a service connection. VA encourages Veterans who believe that military service has negatively impacted their health to submit a claim.

Unfortunately, we are unable to answer questions specific to your individual claim in this forum due to privacy issues. Please contact our national call center for claim specific assistance at [login to see] for the status of your claim and so we may provide individual assistance. For more information on the PACT Act and how you can apply for benefits, see VA.gov/PACT. 

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] so we may provide individual assistance . The PACT Act specifies presumptive locations for Veterans exposed to toxins. If you were not deployed to one of those specific locations, in order to establish entitlement to service-connected compensation, three prongs must be met. There must be evidence of an in-service event, evidence of a current disability and 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 the Veteran meets the criteria of the in-service event and has 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. 

Thank you for your service and question. That is complex question and at least some of your symptoms or conditions may not fit.

Thank you for this inquiry. Please accept our deepest condolences for the loss of your husband. We would encourage you to file a claim for survivor's benefits. We can provide some general information about the available survivor benefits. Survivors, dependents or parents may be eligible for VA benefits based on the PACT Act. They will need to meet requirements for each benefit to qualify. Survivors, dependents or parents may be eligible for the following benefits:  VA dependency and indemnity compensation (VA DIC) offers a monthly payment. Survivors may be eligible if they’re the surviving spouse, dependent child, or parent of a Veteran who died from a service-connected disability.  Accrued benefits offer a one-time payment. Survivors may be eligible if they are the surviving spouse or dependent child or dependent parent of a Veteran who we owed benefits but that were unpaid at the time of their death. Health care through the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) may be available for survivors and dependents of Veterans who are now, or who would have been, eligible for a service-connected disability. Burial allowance  offers help with the Veteran’s burial and funeral costs. You may be eligible if you’re the Veteran’s surviving spouse, partner, child, or parent. For more information on the PACT Act, see VA.gov/PACT. 

Vietnam is not included as a location for conditions related to burn pit exposure. The PACT Act specifies presumptive locations for Veterans exposed to toxins. However, if you believe you have a service connected disability, VA encourages all Veterans 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/

The PACT Act covers burn pit exposures in the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations. These burn pits specifically refer to large industrial open air incineration of solid wastes. One of the main differences in between the Southwest Asia Theater and Vietnam is the climate and the particulate matter exposure in the most recent conflicts. VA encourages Veterans who believe that military service has negatively impacted their health to submit a claim. Thank you for the question and your service to our nation.