If you served in the US military, there is a good chance that you were exposed to some kind of environmental hazard. Depending on your service location and your MOS, you might have been exposed to a wide range of toxic substances during your service. Many chemicals present at toxic military bases in the United States have been linked a myriad of health problems. In this blog we’re going to be talking about toxic military bases and filing VA disability claims for toxic exposure.
Harmful Chemicals at Toxic Military Bases
Everyone has heard of agent orange, herbicides, and pesticides using during the Vietnam War. But there are many other toxic substances that have negatively affected our service members. These include depleted uranium, chromium, PCBs, PFSAs, fumes from burn pits, sulfur fires, Camp Lejeune water, and industrial solvents to name a few.
Then we have radiation and air pollutants, which can be extremely harmful to humans. Air pollutants can come from a wide range of sources including burn pits, oil well fires, sulfur fires in Iraq, sand, dust, and other particulates. Asbestos is another one on the list, which was an issue for many service members involved in construction.
In researching all these toxic substances, one of the strangest ones I found was called Chemical Agent Resistant Coating (CARC). This is a paint that’s used only on military vehicles to make metal surfaces highly-resistant to corrosion and penetration of chemical agents. Inhaling CARC during painting and drying can be extremely toxic. Dried CARC poses no hazards except during welding and sanding. But if you’re on the battlefield and a vehicle painted with CARC catches fire, those chemical compounds are going into the air.
Lastly we have chemical and biological weapons, which could have included things like mustard gas and nerve agents. If you were stationed at some of these toxic military bases like the Anniston Army Depot where they had a lot of this chemical warfare stored, you were likely exposed. I’m sure they tried to store this stuff very well, but barrels leak and the cleanup can be extremely hazardous.
I’ve talked to a lot of Veterans over the years and one of the things I constantly hear is that the military will burn just about anything. If they don’t need it, they’ll burn it. That creates a huge problem when you have these chemical compounds and particulates entering the air. Our service members serving in those areas breathe that air and their health becomes compromised.
Superfund Sites
Many of these toxic military bases are called “superfund sites.” The superfund site program was started by the EPA in the 1980s in an attempt to do something about all these toxic military bases. The program was designed to help cleanup land that the EPA deemed to be contaminated by hazardous waste that poses a risk to human health and the environment.
There is a big assessment that has to happen with respect to determining if a site is a superfund site. The EPA looks at all the different toxins present and whether they’re in the soil, water, air, etc. The main toxins that the EPA addresses with these superfund sites are asbestos, dioxins, lead, PCBs, and radiation.
Presumptive Conditions on Toxic Military Bases
If you served at one of these toxic military bases, what disability benefits can you get as a result of your exposure? Recall from previous blogs that presumptive conditions are health issues that the VA has connected to a type of military service. For example, if you served in Vietnam and suffer from Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, you don’t have to prove that nexus or service connection that is an important piece of a VA disability claim. It is presumed that because you were there and have the condition, that your service exposure caused that condition.
In addition to the presumptive conditions for agent orange exposure in Vietnam, the VA has similar presumptive conditions for Gulf War Veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic fires. These presumptions were stated in the recent PACT Act which contains a laundry list of presumptive conditions for toxic exposure.
But there are many toxic exposures and related conditions that are not on the VA’s presumptive list. Unfortunately, you’re not entitled to many presumptions if you served at one of these toxic military bases in the United States. That’s a huge problem in my opinion, and it needs to be changed immediately!
There are a few toxic military bases in the United States that have presumptive conditions tied to them. One of them is Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, which I’m sure you’ve heard on the radio or television. The problem arises, however, when you have a condition that is not listed on the VA’s presumptive conditions list. They know you were exposed because you served at one of these toxic military bases, but your condition is not on their presumptive list. That makes getting approved for a disability claim much more difficult.
Cleanup on Toxic Military Bases
For much of the 20th Century, there was a military base called Fort Ord in California. This was one of the largest light infantry training bases in the country at the time. More than a million US Army troops trained at Fort Ord while it was open. It was eventually closed as a part of the large base closure act that closed 800 military bases between 1988 and 2005.
After Fort Ord was closed, the cities of Seaside and Marina, California were left as ghost towns. There were many old buildings and barracks left abandoned because these cities couldn’t afford to rehabilitate the structures that were full of asbestos and other contaminants.
The Federal Government told the cities of Seaside and Marina that they would assist with the cleanup of the toxic chemicals. They claimed that the cleanup would allow these bases to be restored so they could then be used for housing and commerce. But that was a big lie!
The Government did assist with some cleanup, but new housing never materialized because the location was such a toxic waste dump. The cleanup is not scheduled to be completed until 2084 . The cities of Seaside and Marina claim that the land they received from the Fort Ord closure costs more to service than it generates in new taxes and that the future growth is unpredictable.
No one wants to live in that toxic waste dump and be exposed. No one wants to drink the water there and bringing external water into the area is extremely expensive. So these cities are left with property that is practically useless and a money drain.
The Government has done a terrible job at cleaning these toxic bases. The EPA will have a strong hand on civilians or businesses that contaminate land or water, but they tend to turn their head when it comes to contamination that the military has caused. It’s time that the Government keeps their promises and works fast to get these old bases cleaned. If they don’t, these old military bases practically become a toxic wasteland that can’t be used for anything.
There are over 140 military bases which are considered superfund sites by the EPA. Here is a link to a map with all the EPA superfund sites. If you served in the military, I would highly recommend checking this list to see if you served at any of these locations. If you did, you may be entitled to VA disability compensation for your exposure to toxic substances and the health problems that the exposure caused.
Contact Us So We Can Help!
If you need assistance with VA disability claims, complete this form or give us a call at (229) 226-8183. If you’d like to see this blog in video format, you can watch it below. Please be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel and click the bell notification button so that you’re notified each time we publish a new video.