GPB Passport icon GPB Passport icon Passport
GPB donate icon GPB donate icon Donate
Sign Up For Our Newsletter

News Articles: burn pits

While the U.S. military has used burn pits in other conflicts, one expert says they were exceptionally large in Iraq and Afghanistan.

What is the legacy of burn pits? For some Iraqis, it's a lifetime of problems

The PACT Act provides new access to services for American veterans struggling with the health effects of exposure to burn pits. But in Iraq, civilians who were exposed are still on their own.

|
By:
  • Simone Popperl,
  • Jeevika Verma,
  • and 1 more
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) looks on Tuesday as Susan Zeier, mother-in-law of the late Sgt. First Class Heath Robinson, hugs Rosie Torres, wife of veteran Le Roy Torres, who suffers from illnesses related to his exposure to burn pits in Iraq, after the Senate passed the PACT Act at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

The Senate passes help for veterans exposed to toxins, after a reversal drew fury

The bill no longer would force generations of veterans to prove that their illness was caused by toxic exposures suffered in the military in order to get VA coverage.

|
By:
  • NPR Staff
Rafael Rivera's tattoo of an American Flag in the shape of Long Island, with a banner from John 15:13.

Sick veterans demand medical coverage for illnesses caused by burn pits

President Biden is urging Congress to send a burn-pits bill to his desk.

|
By:
  • Quil Lawrence
In this April 28, 2011, photo, an Afghan national army pickup truck passes parked U.S. armored military vehicles as smoke rises from a fire in a trash burn pit at Forward Operating Base Caferetta Nawzad, Helmand province south of Kabul, Afghanistan.

House to vote on bill to help veterans exposed to burn pits

The bill would open up federal health care benefits to millions of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service.

|
By:
  • The Associated Press
Comedian, writer and veterans advocate Jon Stewart speaks at a press conference on "The Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act of 2020" at the House Triangle in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

Jon Stewart Uses His Celebrity To Bring Attention To Vets Exposed To Burn Pits

The comedian and activist is helping to launch a new campaign to fight for war veterans who say they are sick because of exposure to burn pits and other toxins in Afghanistan and Iraq.

|
By:
  • Quil Lawrence