Off the Record: The Burn Pits

Video Transcript

Bill: Wow. Got another call today from a veteran who was exposed to the burn pits in Afghanistan.

Janet: Yeah, we seem to be getting a lot of those lately.

Bill: Yeah. This is like the Agent Orange of the Gulf War era.

Janet: Yeah. I can understand why people would feel that way.

Bill: I mean, you know more about this than I do, because you actually experienced this. So, what exactly are the burn pits, for one?

Janet: Well, when you have a landfill over there in particular, anywhere in the Gulf, Afghanistan, any of those places, they have to try and find ways to dispose of waste, whether it’s human waste, could even be garbage, plastic, variety of things. And they have to dispose of them, so they burn them. Burning those things unfortunately it lets off a bunch of toxins when they do those things. And you know, the service people at a landfill over there, they’re taking in all of these chemicals.

And now, they’re finding that it’s contributing to all of these particular conditions. I mean, the list keeps growing. It’s unbelievable. Sometimes it’s breathing problems, headaches. Now there are people suggesting that it’s contributing to neurological problems. I mean, the jury’s still out on it. But, you know, so far it seems to be contributing to a lot of things. So, I can certainly see why they would consider it the new Agent Orange.