Open-air burning has long been a mainstay of waste disposal during times of war, but new factors, such as electronics and plastic bottles, challenge the safety of these fires.<\/p>\n
In a report released in September, the Government Accountability Office<\/a> (GAO) credited the Department of Defense<\/a> (DOD) with improving practices to mitigate the risks of exposure to burn pits, but stated that the DOD still needs to ensure that \u201cresearch specifically examines the relationship between direct burn pit exposure<\/a> and long-term health issues.\u201d<\/p>\n In the report, the GAO also states that there has not been enough progress over the issue of burn-pit exposure since it was discovered more study was needed five years ago.<\/p>\n The report warns that \u201cThe current lack of data on emissions specific to burn pits and related individual exposures limits efforts to characterize potential long-term health impacts of service members and other base personal.\u201d<\/p>\n Right now, the VA<\/a>\u2019s official position is the (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Open-air burning has long been a mainstay of waste disposal during times of war, but new factors, such as electronics and plastic bottles, challenge the safety of these fires. In a report released in September, the Government Accountability Office (GAO)…<\/span><\/p>\n