Crusade for Veterans Sickened by Cancerous Burn-Pit Fumes
- Veterans are becoming ill after exposure to cancer-causing fumes from military burn pits
- Stewart is advocating for healthcare for Veterans impacted by burn-pit exposure
- He also supports 9/11 first responders sickened by toxic exposure
What Is A Burn Pit?
More than 250 burn pits were used on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan to burn trash day and night. The toxic smoke from the pits was laced with dioxins, lead, mercury, and other cancer-causing chemicals, which wafted across the base in fumes that service members breathed.
Toxic fumes from military burn pits have led to rare cancers and other illnesses in U.S. military Veterans.
The items disposed of in the burn pits included chemical weapons, computer hardware, medical waste, asbestos, pesticides, paint cans, fuels, and other toxic substances.
Exposure to burn pits has caused thousands of deaths among Veterans who’ve suffered from “devastating health conditions” including “rare forms of cancer,” according to Burn Pit 360, a Veterans’ advocacy group that sponsors a registry to track and calculate the human toll among our military Veterans.
Stewart: Model Has To Change
"If you can't take care of those that are injured and face health issues, if we're going to make them fight wars and then come home and fight for their lives — that has to change," Stewart said in a Washington Post online discussion in June. "That's a model that has to change."
“They knew that burn pits were unhealthy. They had warnings. They ignored it. Now they have to do the just and fair thing. There's nobody who knows this fight better than John Feal,” Stewart said of the 9/11 first responder who has fought for health coverage for those sickened in its aftermath. Feal spoke to SurvivorNet, below.
SurvivorNet spoke with John Feal, 9/11 first responder and founder and president of the Feal Good Foundation, which helps first responders get the healthcare and cancer screenings they need.
Earlier this year, Stewart met with military officers and members of the advocacy group, TEAM (Toxic Exposures in the American Military) to develop a strategy to ensure servicemembers exposed to toxins from the waste-disposal pits will receive appropriate medical care for burn-pit related medical problems.
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“Quite frankly, this is not just about burn pits it's about the way we go to war as a country," Stewart said.
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"We always have money to make war. We need to always have money to take care of what happens to people who are selfless enough, patriotic enough, to wage those wars on our behalf."
“One Simple Reason: Money”
The bill is still in the final stages of being drafted. Although advocates say there is ample evidence to connect health issues to exposure to toxins from burn pits, Veterans often find it difficult to access health care because the VA has requested more studies linking health problems to exposure.
“This is not an oversight, this is not a bug in the system. This is a feature of the system. 80% of claims that are made at the VA are denied,” Stewart said on Friday. “It is designed to frustrate and to push claims down and there is one simple reason for it — and it's money.”
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