Environmental Health Information for Veterans
Environmental and Occupational Exposures
The links below provide access to all available reports done by, or sponsored by, the U.S. government, and a listing of articles from peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals related to the Research Topic: Environmental and Occupational Exposures.
Exposure Registries
The VA tracks veterans' special health concerns through four registries: Agent Orange, Gulf War/ Operation Iraqi Freedom, Depleted Uranium, Ionizing Radiation.
War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC)
The New Jersey War-Related Illness Injury Screening Clinic (WWRIISC-NJ) provides a second opinion for combat veterans with difficult-to-diagnose war-related illnesses and injuries.
War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC) Exposure Clinic
The War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC) at the East Orange VA Medical Center has a special clinic to address veterans' deployment and service related exposure concerns.
Environmental Agents
- Warfare Agents
Information for veterans, their families and others about VA health care programs related to warfare agents - Gulf War Exposures
US Department of Defense information about environmental exposures of troops deployed in Southwest Asia
Chemical Exposures
Agent Orange
Herbicides were used in Vietnam between 1962 and 1971 to remove unwanted plant life and leaves which otherwise provided cover for enemy forces during the Vietnam Conflict.
- Environmental Agents Service
Information for veterans, their families and others about VA health care programs related to Agent Orange. Programs include healthcare services, disability compensation for veterans with service-connected illnesses, scientific research and outreach and education - Benefits
Vietnam veterans may be eligible for compensation and health care for certain diseases associated with Agent Orange. Based on clinical research, the following diseases are on VA's Agent Orange list of presumptive disabilities:- acute subacute peripheral neurophathy
- B cell leukemias
- chloracne
- chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- Hodgkin's disease
- ischemic heart disease
- multiple myeloma
- non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- Parkinson's disease
- porphyria cutanea tarda
- prostate cancer
- respiratory cancers (lung, bronchus, larynx and trachea)
- soft-tisue sarcoma, acute
- type II diabetes mellitus
Asbestos
Asbestos is a number of naturally occurring, fibrous silicate minerals. Asbestos is commonly used as an acoustic insulator, thermal insulation, fire proofing and in other building materials.- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - EPA leads the nation's environmental science, research, education and assessment efforts
- Medline Plus- MedlinePlus brings together information from the National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations
- Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health - is the federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) - federal agency responsible for safety and health of America's workers
Depleted Uranium
Metallic uranium (U) is a silver-white, lustrous, dense, weakly radioactive element. Natural uranium consists of a mixture of three radioactive isotopes which are identified by the mass numbers 238U, 235U and 234U.
Uranium is commonly found throughout the natural environment, in varying but small amounts in rocks, soils, water, air, plants, animals and in all human beings.
Uranium is used primarily in nuclear power plants. However, most reactors require uranium in which the 235U content is enriched from 0.72% to about 1.5-3%. The uranium remaining after removal of the enriched portion is referred to as depleted uranium or DU.
DU is weakly radioactive and a radiation dose from it would be about 60% of that from purified natural uranium with the same mass. DU is used in armor penetrating military ordnance because of its high density, and also because DU can ignite on impact if the temperature exceeds 600°C.
Sources of information on Depleted Uranium (DU):
- World Health Organization (WHO) -WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system.
- Military Health System & the Defense Health Agency Web site provides information on depleted uranium (DU) to Service members and their families, other Federal agencies, and members of the public. Includes fact sheets on DU, results of medical and scientific research studies and reports from organizations and government agencies; DoD policies related to depleted uranium; the Veterans Affairs (VA's) DU Medical Follow-up Program and related links to other offices and agencies.
- Deployment Health Clinical Center - U.S. Department of Defense Deployment Health Clinical Center (DHCC)
Jet Fuel Propellant
Jet Fuel propellant (JP-8) powers military aircraft and other high performance vehicles and equipment, including tanks, power generators and space heaters.
- Jet Fuel Propellant (JP-5, JP-8, and Jet A Fuels) General Facts and Information - Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Fact Sheet
Oil Fires
The Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses investigated the events surrounding the Kuwait oil fires and their potential impacts on human health.
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - War Related Illness and Injury Study Center
- RAND Health's Center for Military Health Policy Research (report) - by RAND Health's Center for Military Health Policy Research and the Forces and Resources Policy Center of the National Defense Research Institute. The latter is a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the unified commands, and the defense agencies
- Asthma concerns related to oil fires - U.S. Department of Defense Deployment Health Clinical Center link
- Links related to oil fires -- U.S. Department of Defense Deployment Health Clinical Center environmental exposure information related to deployments in the Gulf region
Particulate Matter
These Department of Defense links discuss exposure of military personnel to air pollution and respirable particulate matter during the Gulf War (1990-1991).
Pesticides
Pesticides are used to control insects, ticks, rodents and poisonous plants during military service.
- Pesticides - U.S. Department of Defense Deployment Health Clinical Center link
Other Topics:
- Health Effects from Chemical, Biological and Radiological Weapons - An independent study conducted as part of the Veterans Health Initiative (VHI) to better understand the health effects of chemical, biological and Radiological weapons.
- Chemical and Biological Exposures - Military Health System and the Defense Health Agency web site
- Ionizing Radiation - Information for veterans, their families and others about VA health care programs related to ionizing radiation issues
Other Resources
- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) - Principal federal public health agency charged with the responsibility of evaluating the human health effects of exposure to hazardous substances
- Center for Disease Control (CDC) - Online source for health information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - EPA leads the nation's environmental science, research, education and assessment efforts
- Navy Environmental Health Center - Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) - is the federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness
- Project 112 (Including Project SHAD) - Department of Defense (DoD) website - Project SHAD, an acronym for Shipboard Hazard and Defense, encompassed a series of tests by DoD to determine the vulnerability of U.S. warships to attacks with chemical and biological warfare agents, and the potential risk to American forces posed by these agents
- U.S. Army Public Health Center - U.S. Army Public Health Center's mission is to enhance Army readiness by identifying and assessing current and emerging health threats, developing and communicating public health solutions, and assuring the quality and effectiveness of the Army's Public Health Enterprise.
