Soldier deposits trash into a fire pit on a military base in Iraq.
They're called "burn pits" and they're used by the military in Iraq and Afghanistan to burn and dispose of all kinds of waste, some of it hazardous.
And they may be responsible for contributing to the sickness and even death of military personnel.
Which is why Democratic Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire and others filed legislation requiring a full investigation into the effects of burn pits and to prohibit their continued use.
“Burn pits expose our troops to dangerous toxins that can cause long-term health risks,” Shea-Porter of the 1st Congressional District said yesterday at a press conference. “This important bill will help protect our service members by monitoring the use of burn pits and tracking the health problems they may cause.”
She co-sponsored the bill -- called the Military Personnel War Zone Toxic Exposure Prevention Act (H.R.2419) -- with U.S. Rep. Tim Bishop of New York.
Shea-Porter is a member the House Armed Services Committee.
According to a statement from Shea-Porter and Bishop, the Department of Defense has dismissed any long-term health risks posed by the pits, but the representatives believe that hundreds of tons of war-zone waste -- including dioxin, benzene and other carcinogens -- are leading to serious health problems among veterans.
They cited a waste pit at the 15-square-mile Joint Base Balad in Iraq has burned unexploded ordnance, petroleum products, plastics, rubber, paint and solvents, and medical waste, including amputated limbs, according to a 2006 memo from a top U.S. military official.
This wouldn't be the first time that something the defense department thought safe proved harmful -- a la Agent Orange.
A "BURN PITS Action Center" web site contains several person stories from soldiers about their personal exposure.
This week on the site, Tim wrote::
"I was first stationed at FOB Ironhorse (later FOB Danger) in Tikrit in 2003. A daily ritual at the end of a duty day was to drive to the burn pit to dispose of the day's trash. My second tour in 2006 was on COB Speicher where my battalion headquarters and the LSA across the street were regularly (almost daily) exposed to the down-wind smoke from the KBR burn pit. Since returning in Nov 2006, I've been diagnosed w/ sleep apnea and some unexplained rashes. It's a daily worry whether or not I've been exposed to the 'agent orange' of our time."
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