my ltte in honor of Veterans Day-on the Balad Burn Pit

[w8liftinglady]

I'll let you know when it's published.

Recently,The Military Times ran an article on the Burn pit at Balad Air Base in Balad,Iraq.Tens of thousands of troops,contractors and Iraqis have been exposed to the toxic fumes emitted by the daily burning of 147 tons of Styrofoam, unexploded ordnance, petroleum products, plastics, rubber, dining facility trash, paint and solvents and medical waste, including amputated limbs.This has exposed these individuals to known carcinogens,such as arsenic, dioxin, and benzene.Numerous reports of new-onset asthma and other respiratory diseases are being reported by those who have worked in this area.Troops who tend to the burn pit wear simple dust masks,which are ineffective at filtering any of these harmful chemicals.Air Force officials deny any long-term effects from this long-term 24/7 exposure.The military operates several burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan,with relatively little oversight or protocol.

In honor of veterans present and future,I chose to write about these pits because they are yet another example of the disregard the Pentagon has for the soldier(or airman,in this case).Adhere to the doctrine of plausible deniability,and hope the symptoms present themselves after discharge,when the VA has to absorb these troops as they sicken.This is reminiscent of Agent Orange,depleted uranium,and the anthrax vaccine...all of which sickened and killed our troops,and all of which the government denied any correlation.

In order to support our troops,we must insist on a true investigation of the toxic exposure our troops face,as well as the effect on the environment.Contact Congressman Barton and Senators Cornyn and Hutchison and demand an investigation into this blatant disregard for our troops' welfare.