III 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 737 

Designating August 10, 2022, as ‘‘Toxic Exposure Awareness Day’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 2, 2022 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. ROUNDS) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 

Committee discharged; considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating August 10, 2022, as ‘‘Toxic Exposure Awareness 

Day’’. 

Whereas, during the Vietnam War, the United States sprayed 

between 11,000,000 and 12,000,000 gallons of Agent Orange, potentially exposing millions of members of the 

Armed Forces stationed in Vietnam and elsewhere to this 

toxic mixture of herbicides; 

Whereas, after the Vietnam War, it took the United States 

Government years to recognize the link between Agent 

Orange and the health conditions being experienced by 

thousands of returning members of the Armed Forces; 

Whereas the Agent Orange Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–4; 

38 U.S.C. 1116 note), provided Vietnam veterans with a 


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presumption of service connection for diseases associated 

with exposure to certain herbicide agents; 

Whereas members of the Armed Forces have been exposed to 

toxic substances while serving at home, including at 

Camp Lejeune, where as many as 1,000,000 members of 

the Armed Forces, family members, and staff may have 

been exposed to drinking water containing contaminants 

that have been linked to adverse health effects; 

Whereas members of the Armed Forces have been exposed to 

toxic radiation while engaged in cleanup operations, including in— 

(1) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; 

(2) Thule, Greenland; and 

(3) Palomares, Spain; 

Whereas, from 1985 to 2001, at Naval Air Facility Atsugi in 

Atsugi, Japan, personnel and family members of members of the Armed Forces, including dependent children, 

may have been exposed to environmental contaminants 

from off-base waste incinerators; 

Whereas the Armed Forces used burn pits in Iraq, Kuwait, 

Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, 

and Bahrain during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm; 

Whereas more than 250 burn pits were used during military 

operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Djibouti after September 11, 2001; 

Whereas veterans encountered hazardous exposures while 

serving at the Karshi-Khanabad Air Base, commonly 

known as K2, in Uzbekistan from 2001 to 2005; 

Whereas there were no regulations restricting what the 

Armed Forces could burn in burn pits until 2009; 


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Whereas the open air burn pits used by the Armed Forces 

in many overseas operations may have exposed members 

of the Armed Forces to a variety of potentially harmful 

substances; 

Whereas the Department of Defense estimates that approximately 3,500,000 members of the Armed Forces, who 

served in the Southwest Asia theater of military operations after August 2, 1990, or in Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, may have been exposed to airborne hazards; 

Whereas an Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America survey found that 86 percent of post-9/11 veterans who 

served in Iraq and Afghanistan say they were exposed to 

burn pits or airborne toxic materials; 

Whereas hundreds of thousands of members of the Armed 

Forces and other personnel who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Saudi Araibia, Djibouti, Qatar, Bahrain, 

Oman, United Arab Emirates, and certain sea locations 

have signed up for a burn pit registry created in 2014 

by the Department of Veterans Affairs for veterans to 

register health problems associated with exposure to burn 

pits; and 

Whereas designating August 10, 2022, as ‘‘Toxic Exposure 

Awareness Day’’ would be an appropriate way to honor 

the members of the Armed Forces who were exposed to 

toxic substances while serving in defense of the United 

States: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates August 10, 2022, as ‘‘Toxic Ex3 posure Awareness Day’’; 


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1 (2) honors and recognizes the contributions of 

2 the members of the Armed Forces and veterans who 

3 were exposed to toxic substances; 

4 (3) encourages States and local governments to 

5 designate August 10, 2022, as ‘‘Toxic Exposure 

6 Awareness Day’’; 

7 (4) encourages the Department of Veterans Af8 fairs (referred to in this resolution as ‘‘VA’’) to con9 duct additional outreach and promote awareness of 

10 the resources that the VA offers for those to exposed 

11 to toxic substances, including— 

12 (A) offering no-cost health screenings; 

13 (B) registering for the VA Airborne Haz14 ards and Open Burn Pit Registry; 

15 (C) providing information on the Elec16 tronic Health Record (commonly known as 

17 ‘‘EHR’’); 

18 (D) reviewing the VA insurance and bene19 fits, including review of disability claims; 

20 (E) connecting with County Veteran Serv21 ice Officers; and 

22 (F) promoting awareness campaigns; 

23 (5) encourages veterans to use the available re24 sources at the VA and Veteran Service Organiza25 tions (referred to in this resolution as ‘‘VSOs’’); 


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1 (6) encourages VSOs to continue outreach ef2 forts to connect veterans with available health re3 sources, from both VSOs and the United States 

4 Government; 

5 (7) promotes continued medical research re6 garding burn pit exposure risks, whether through 

7 the Airborne Hazards and Burn Pits Center of Ex8 cellence or other partnership programming with the 

9 VA or the United States Government; 

10 (8) encourages the people of the United States 

11 to observe Toxic Exposure Awareness Day, whether 

12 by familiarizing themselves with resources available 

13 to all veterans or thanking members of the Armed 

14 Forces for their sacrifice; and 

15 (9) demonstrates the resolve that the people of 

16 the United States shall never forget the sacrifices 

17 and service of the generations of veterans who 

18 served in the Armed Forces at home and around the 

19 world. 

Æ 


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