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VA is sponsoring several studies on the possible health effects of burn pits:

• VA asked the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to conduct an in-depth review of the existing literature on the potential adverse health effects of exposure to smoke from burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. The report, “Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and Afghanistan”, was released on October 31. VA currently is assessing the report.
• VA is conducting the National Health Study for a New Generation of U.S. Veterans. The study group includes 30,000 Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) Veterans and 30,000 Veterans who served elsewhere during the same time period. The study covers a wide spectrum of health effects, including those that may be associated with exposure to smoke from burn pits.
• VA is participating in the Millennium Cohort Study, a Department of Defense epidemiological study begun in 2001 that has almost 150,000 participants. The study is designed to evaluate how military service may affect the long-term health of service members. Data are being collected on respiratory health.
• The VA/Department of Defense Pulmonary Health Working Group is looking at pre- and post-deployment health and also reviewing the health records of military working dogs that receive the same exposures that the troops do. These dogs may serve as sentinels for human health.
• VA is sponsoring additional studies by individual VA researchers and tracking other studies by non-VA researchers.

You also may conduct an extensive search on health effects of burn pits through the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s PubMed.

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