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Veterans Fight for Benefits After Toxic Burn Pit Exposuresby Brie Cadman October 05, 2010 03:49 PM (PT)
Before Tim Wymore left for his tour of duty in Iraq in 2004, he was in great health. He played softball and golf, and rode a Harley. He was so active, says his wife Shanna, she struggled to keep up with him.
But now, at the age of 44, he's fighting for his life. He has lesions in his brain and one in his eye. He can't walk without a cane and help from his wife. He has a damaged esophagus, and has had to have three-quarters of his colon removed. Patches and sores dot his body.
Wymore is one of the approximately 350,000 troops that were exposed to fumes from open-air burn pits, makeshift landfills present at almost every military installation in Iraq and Afghanistan. The football field-sized holes were filled with medical and human waste, batteries, plastics, humvee doors, body parts -- you name it -- and then doused with fuel and set afire. The billowing black fumes constantly wafted over bases and infiltrated lungs.
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A statement on the Pentagon's Force Health Protection and Readiness Program states that,
"While exposure to burn pit smoke may cause temporary coughing and redness or stinging of the eyes, extensive environmental monitoring indicates that smoke exposures not interfering with breathing or requiring medical treatment at the time of exposure usually do not cause any lasting health effects or medical follow-up."http://health.change.org/blog/view/veterans_fight_for_benefits_after_toxic_burn_pit_exposures?me=nl___________________________________
Several hundred victims and families have a class action lawsuit pending against KBR and Halliburton, the military contractors that operated the burn pits.
What you can do right now to help
Sign this petition urging your Representative to support burn pit legislation:http://health.change.org/petitions/view/tell_congress_support_veterans_by_taking_action_against_toxic_burn_pits
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