Representative Shea-Porter recently released a statement cheering the VA's decision to create a registry tracking the health of soldiers who are exposed to burn pits while deployed overseas:
The launch of the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry is good news for all of today’s veterans who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Djibouti. We have a responsibility to take care of our service members and the health hazards they now face due to previous exposure to burn pits. I want to thank all the veterans organizations, especially those in New Hampshire, who fought with me on a six-year campaign to protect our troops’ health, and I want to thank Senators Tom Udall and Bob Corker for bringing this bill across the finish line. We reached an important milestone today.
In the House Shea-Porter has championed efforts to make burn pits illegal. Paul Briand described those efforts in a 2009 article:
New Hampshire's Democratic U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter and her counterpart from New York were successful in getting the House to accept a provision that outlaws the burn pits military personnel say is making them ill.
Burn pits used at military installations in Iraq and Afghanistan are used to incinerate everything from medical waste to unused fuel to worn clothing and everyday waste. But the smoke from those pits is thought to contain toxins, which military organizations representing veterans say is responsible for a growing number of illnesses.
“Burn pits expose our troops to dangerous toxins that can cause long-term health problems," Shea-Porter said after the amendment was adopted on Wednesday. “When they deploy, our service members put their lives at risk and do not deserve to suffer this added, unjustifiable risk.” The amendment was incorporated into the National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the House.
Shea-Porter co-sponsored the legislation with U.S. Rep. Tim Bishop, Democrat from New York, who said, "Our troops should be free to focus on fighting the enemy without worrying how their lives may be further endangered by breathing in toxic air from their own bases.”
Their amendment requires the Secretary of Defense to prohibit the disposal of medical and hazardous waste in open-air burn pits during a contingency operation lasting longer than 12 months. It also requires the secretary to submit a report to Congress on the use of such burn pits and safer alternatives. The military installations are overseen by military contractor KBR and many soldiers making comments about the burn pits say the Houston-based company bears some responsibility for the illnesses . . .
The burn pits amendment received the backing of the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Military Officers Association of America, National Guard Association of the United States, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Said the VFW in a statement: “…we believe, as you do, that incinerating toxic waste materials at military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan are likely responsible for a growing number of illnesses affecting soldiers coming home to the US. Moreover, despite growing concerns over the widespread open-air burning of trash, only about half of 41 incinerators the military purchased four years ago to combat the problem are in operation. Thank you for taking the lead on this initiative and for your continued support of our armed forces and military veterans.”