Long-term health consequences of exposure to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan
By: Committee on the Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in  Iraq and Afghanistan, Board on the Health of Select Populations, Insitute of Medicine of the National Academies
Contributors: Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Board on the Health of Select Populations
Publisher: National Academies Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Washington, D.C
Language: eng
Number of pages: 180
ISBN-13: 9780309217552
Subjects: Physiological effect; Air Pollution; Persian Gulf War, 1991; Health aspects; Air; Combustion products; Adverse effects; Pollutants; Pollution
Description: Many veterans returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have health problems they believe are related to their exposure to the smoke from the burning of waste in open-air "burn pits" on military bases. Particular controversy surrounds the burn pit used to dispose of solid waste at Joint Base Balad in Iraq, which burned up to 200 tons of waste per day in 2007. The Department of Veterans Affairs asked the IOM to form a committee to determine the long-term health effects from exposure to these burn pits. Insufficient evidence prevented the IOM committee from developing firm conclusions. This report, therefore, recommends that, along with more efficient data-gathering methods, a study be conducted that would evaluate the health status of service members from their time of deployment over many years to determine their incidence of chronic diseases.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.

Also available online in Open Book format via the National Academies Press home page.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Current and historical uses of burn pits in the military; title: Approach to the task; title: Evaluation of air monitoring data determinants of exposure; title: Health effects of air pollutants detected at Joint Base Balad; title: Health effects associated with combustion products; title: Synthesis and conclusions; title: Feasibility and design issues for an epidemiologic study of veterans exposed to burn pit emissions.