Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and Afghanistan
Publisher: Institute Of Medicine of the National Academies
Author(s): Committee on the Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits In Iraq and Afghanistan
Date: 2011
Topics: Weapons, Waste, and Pollution
Countries: Afghanistan, Iraq
During deployment, military personnel are exposed to a variety of environmental hazards, such as dust, intense heat and sunlight, kerosene heaters, pesticides, and depleted uranium. Exposure to some such hazards has been associated with long-term adverse health outcomes. Many U.S. military personnel returning from the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are reporting health problems that they contend are related to their exposure to emissions from the burning of waste in open-air “burn pits” on military bases. Throughout the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, burn pits have been used to dispose of all types of waste.
Military field operations generate large quantities of waste that must be disposed of. It is estimated that about 8–10 pounds of solid waste is generated per person per day at the bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, although this number can vary depending on the base and its population (Faulkner 2011). Historically, the U.S. military has established open-air waste burning sites when hauling trash to appropriate disposal sites or the sanitary discharge of latrine wastes are not available options. A wide range of refuse can be burned, from food and human waste to packaging and equipment, as well as materials abandoned by the enemy. Current Department of Defense (DoD) regulations permit the use of burn pits only until better disposal options such as incinerators are available and operational (AFIOH undated). Nevertheless, burn pit use continues to be widespread at U.S. military bases in Afghanistan, although they are being phased out in Iraq.