I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4477 
To require the Secretary of Defense to establish a medical surveillance system 
to identify members of the Armed Forces exposed to chemical hazards 
resulting from the disposal of waste in Iraq and Afghanistan, to prohibit 
the disposal of waste by the Armed Forces in a manner that would 
produce dangerous levels of toxins, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 20, 2010 
Mr. BISHOP of New York (for himself and Ms. SHEA-PORTER) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Defense to establish a medical 
surveillance system to identify members of the Armed 
Forces exposed to chemical hazards resulting from the 
disposal of waste in Iraq and Afghanistan, to prohibit 
the disposal of waste by the Armed Forces in a manner 
that would produce dangerous levels of toxins, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Personnel 
Toxic Exposure Registry Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. IDENTIFICATION OF HEALTH EFFECTS RELATED TO 
HAZARDOUS DISPOSAL SITE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Defense 
shall establish and administer a system to identify mem-
bers of the Armed Forces who were potentially exposed 
to a hazardous disposal site and any negative health ef-
fects that may be related to such exposure. The Secretary 
shall administer such system using existing medical sur-
veillance systems. 
(b) NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary learns that a 
member of the Armed Forces was potentially exposed to 
a hazardous disposal site, the Secretary shall— 
(1) give notice of the potential exposure to— 
(A) the member; 
(B) the commanding officer of the unit to 
which the member belonged at the time of po-
tential exposure; and 
(C) in the case of a member of the Na-
tional Guard, the Adjutant General of the State 
concerned; and 
(2) inform the member that the member may be 
included in the system required by subsection (a). 
(c) REGISTRATION.—For each member of the Armed 
Forces notified of a potential exposure under subsection 
(b), the Secretary shall collect information for purposes 
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of the system required by subsection (a). Such information 
shall include— 
(1) the locations where the member was de-
ployed, including the dates of such deployment; 
(2) the approximate distance of the living and 
working quarters of the member from a hazardous 
disposal site; 
(3) the types of materials disposed of at the 
site; 
(4) the length of time the member was exposed 
to such site; 
(5) any symptoms experienced by the member 
while deployed; 
(6) any symptoms the member experiences at 
the time of submitting such information to the Sec-
retary; and 
(7) other information the Secretary considers 
appropriate. 
(d) EXAMINATION.—Not later than 30 days after the 
date on which the Secretary learns that a member of the 
Armed Forces was potentially exposed to a hazardous dis-
posal site, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall— 
(1) provide such member— 
(A) a complete physical examination; and 
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(B) consultation and counseling with re-
spect to the results of such physical examina-
tion; and 
(2) ensure that documentation of the potential 
exposure is placed in the medical record of the mem-
ber maintained by the Department of Defense. 
(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Sen-
ate and House of Representatives a report describing— 
(1) the status of implementing the system re-
quired by subsection (a); and 
(2) the incidences of illnesses among members 
of the Armed Forces notified under subsection (b) 
and whether such illnesses may have been caused by 
exposure to a hazardous disposal site. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘existing medical surveillance sys-
tems’’ means medical surveillance systems and other 
data in the possession of the Secretary as of the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(2) The term ‘‘exposure to a hazardous disposal 
site’’ includes the following: 
(A) Exposure to the fumes emanating from 
a hazardous disposal site for— 
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(i) more than six months, in the case 
of a member of the Armed Forces who was 
deployed to a military installation that 
made use of open pits to burn waste; or 
(ii) any period of time when exposure 
to such fumes was intensive. 
(B) A situation where a member of the 
Armed Forces with service-related health prob-
lems demonstrates significant exposure to 
fumes emanating from a hazardous disposal 
site. 
(3) The term ‘‘hazardous disposal site’’ means 
a location where hazardous methods of disposing of 
mass amounts of waste were used during Operation 
Enduring Freedom or Operations Iraqi Freedom, in-
cluding the use of open pits to burn waste. 
(4) The term ‘‘member of the Armed Forces’’ 
includes former members of the Armed Forces. 
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON DISPOSAL OF COVERED WASTE IN 
OPEN AIR BURN PITS. 
(a) INCLUSION OF SOLID WASTE CONTAINING PLAS-
TICS IN DEFINITION OF COVERED WASTE.—Subsection 
(c)(2) of section 317 of the National Defense Authoriza-
tion Act for Fiscal Year 2010 is amended— 
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(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and 
(C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph (B): 
‘‘(B) solid waste containing plastics;’’. 
(b) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON PAST USE OF 
OPEN AIR BURN PITS IN REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Sub-
section (b) of such section is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 
(7) as paragraphs (3) through (8), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing new paragraph (2): 
‘‘(2) an explanation of the situations and cir-
cumstances under which open-air burn pits were 
used to dispose of waste during military exercises 
and operations worldwide during the period begin-
ning on September 11, 2001, and ending on the date 
of the enactment of this Act;’’. 
Æ 
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