Senate Passes Udall’s Burn Pit Registry Bill

The Senate has unanimously approved Sen. Tom Udall’s bill that would create a national registry for service members and veterans who were exposed to toxic chemicals and fumes from open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The measure was inspired in part by Master Sgt. Jessey Baca, a South Valley man diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, mesothelial hyperplasia and constrictive bronchiolitis after serving in Iraq. Baca told me last year that he has been debilitated with severe respiratory and pulmonary illness since returning from duty at the Balad military base. A doctor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville,Tenn., ultimately diagnosed Baca’s terminal illness and connected it to the burn pit pollution in Iraq, Baca said.

The Burn Pit Open Registry Act was included as part of an omnibus veterans measure, S. 3202, the “Dignified Burial and Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2012,” which passed the Senate unanimously late Wednesday. Udall and Corker first introduced the measure in 2011 with cosponsors Sens. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Bill Nelson, D-Fla., Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn and others. It was unanimously passed by the Senate Veterans Affairs’ Committee in September.

Udall’s office tells me the House is expected to take up the legislation as soon as tomorrow.

“When our servicemen and women suffer from unexplained, invisible wounds, we must act to ensure they receive the treatment necessary to heal,” Udall said in a press release. “That is what we have done today, and I urge the House to act quickly on this legislation so military families, medical professionals and the Department of Defense can have the resources to provide our veterans with proper care.”

Earlier this year, Udall testified before a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing on the legislation and mentioned the work of the Bacas, who had traveled from New Mexico to attend the hearing.

“I am proud of the bipartisan work we have done for military families like Jessey and Marie Baca, whose efforts will help many others receive the answers they deserve after serving our country so bravely,” Udall said.

“We need to know more about the connections between burn pit exposure and health problems affecting our servicemen and women, and this registry will help us gather the information we need,” Bingaman said.  “I applaud Senators Udall and Corker for working so hard to get this provision over the finish line.”

According to a press release from Udall’s office, the bill would “create a registry similar to the Agent Orange Registry and the Gulf War Registry. The establishment of an open burn pit registry will help the patients, doctors and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) determine to what extent air pollution, caused by open air burn pits, has led to medical diseases among service members. The legislation will also serve as a vehicle for improved communication and information dissemination for affected veterans.

As early as 2002, U.S.military installations in Afghanistan and Iraq began to rely on open-air burn pits to dispose of waste materials. The U.S. Department of Defense and numerous contractors made frequent use of burn pits at a number of bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Here’s a summary of the Open Burn Pits Registry legislation:

– Establish and maintain an open burn pit registry for those individuals who may have been exposed during their military service;

– Include information in this registry that the Secretary of the VA determines applicable to possible health effects of this exposure;

– Develop a public information campaign to inform individuals about the registry; and

– Periodically notify members of the registry of significant developments associated with burn pit exposure.