I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3337 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish an open burn pit 
registry to ensure that members of the Armed Forces who may have 
been exposed to toxic chemicals and fumes caused by open burn pits 
while deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq receive information regarding 
such exposure, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 3, 2011 
Mr. AKIN (for himself, Mr. KISSELL, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. CAR-
SON of Indiana, Mr. BARTLETT, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, 
Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. OWENS, Mr. HANNA, 
Mr. PEARCE, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. LONG, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. 
LATHAM, and Mr. FRANKS of Arizona) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish an 
open burn pit registry to ensure that members of the 
Armed Forces who may have been exposed to toxic 
chemicals and fumes caused by open burn pits while 
deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq receive information re-
garding such exposure, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Open Burn Pit Reg-
istry Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF REGISTRY. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— 
(1) establish and maintain an open burn pit 
registry for eligible individuals who may have been 
exposed to toxic chemicals and fumes caused by open 
burn pits; 
(2) include any information in such registry 
that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines 
necessary to ascertain and monitor the health effects 
of the exposure of members of the Armed Forces to 
toxic chemicals and fumes caused by open burn pits; 
(3) develop a public information campaign to 
inform eligible individuals about the open burn pit 
registry, including how to register and the benefits 
of registering; and 
(4) periodically notify eligible individuals of sig-
nificant developments in the study and treatment of 
conditions associated with exposure to toxic chemi-
cals and fumes caused by open burn pits. 
SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
(a) REPORT BY INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC ORGANI-
ZATION.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall enter 
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into an agreement with an independent scientific organiza-
tion to develop a report containing the following: 
(1) An assessment of the effectiveness of ac-
tions taken by the Secretaries to collect and main-
tain information on the health effects of exposure to 
toxic chemicals and fumes caused by open burn pits. 
(2) Recommendations to improve the collection 
and maintenance of such information. 
(3) Using established and previously published 
epidemiological studies, recommendations regarding 
the most effective and prudent means of addressing 
the medical needs of eligible individuals with respect 
to conditions that are likely to result from exposure 
to open burn pits. 
(b) SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 
months after the date on which the registry under section 
2 is established, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
submit to Congress the report developed under subsection 
(a). 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘open burn pit’’ means an area 
of land located in Afghanistan or Iraq that— 
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(A) is designated by the Secretary of De-
fense to be used for disposing solid waste by 
burning in the outdoor air; and 
(B) does not contain a commercially manu-
factured incinerator or other equipment specifi-
cally designed and manufactured for the burn-
ing of solid waste. 
(2) The term ‘‘eligible individual’’ means any 
individual who, on or after September 11, 2001— 
(A) was deployed in support of a contin-
gency operation while serving in the Armed 
Forces; and 
(B) during such deployment, was based or 
stationed at a location where an open burn pit 
was used. 
Æ 
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