These kinds of studies are especially important, given that cancers generally take many years to develop, and military burn pit exposures have taken place relatively recently. These types of exposures have also been studied in relation to health outcomes in other occupational groups, such as firefighters, and for comparison, in civilian groups without these exposures. Studies of the blood or body tissue of military personnel with burn pit exposure that measure the presence of pollutants known to be linked with genetic alterations.Studies that measure the pollutants in the air, soil, and water around burn pits to estimate exposure and cancer risk in military personnel.Studies that use information about the types of pollutants found in burn pit smoke to estimate whether such exposures might cause cancer (and how likely this is).Because of this, studies of health problems possibly linked with exposures to burn pit emissions fall into 3 main groups: But in general, only indirect assessments of exposure are possible. Ideally, there would be records that show who was exposed to the emissions, exactly what they were exposed to, how much exposure they had, and how long they were exposed. Studying the health effects of exposure to burn pit emissions is difficult. Do exposures to burn pit emissions cause cancer? This includes dust made up of industrial emissions and waste, as well as aircraft and ground transportation emissions that mix with soil and are spread by the wind. Personnel at these military bases have also been exposed to other air pollutants from a combination of local and regional sources. There is extensive evidence in other situations that PM in air pollution is linked to heart disease, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, and an overall increased risk of death.Īlthough it’s almost impossible to prove that burn pits cause these same health issues, this evidence suggests that the health issues reported by veterans with exposures from burn pits and other chemicals linked to their deployment are reason for concern. Incomplete combustion of organic and inorganic material in burn pits results in high volumes of toxic particulate matter (PM) in the air that includes metals, benzene, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzo-p-furans (PCDD/Fs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other compounds. Toxic exposures linked with burn pitsĮnvironmental sampling of the air and soil near burn pits has documented the presence of several chemical compounds shown in studies to be linked with inflammation and body tissue damage, particularly in the respiratory tract. However, other people have been exposed as well, due to burn pit emissions being carried to surrounding areas by the wind. Military personnel and contractors who have spent time near burn pits likely had high levels of exposure to air pollution, especially those people assigned to tend the pits.
They give off more air pollution than contained burning, because the burning takes place in an open area and at lower temperatures. Burn pits create large volumes of toxic smoke and other substances. Typically, JP-8 jet fuel, which contains benzene, has been used as an accelerant. Burn pits are large areas where tons of waste products (including trash, plastics, wood, metal, paints, solvents, munitions, and medical and human waste) are burned in the open air. A burn pit is an approach to waste disposal that has been used by the US military at bases in the Middle East, mainly in Afghanistan and Iraq beginning in 2001.
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