While multiple lawsuits make their way through the courts against contractors hired by the Department of Defense (DOD) to burn garbage and toxic materials in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones, the military is continuing to use the controversial waste disposal method—and ignore federal regulations in the process.

 

The Government Accountability Office reviewed burn pits at four U.S. bases in Iraq and found none complied with government rules intended to protect soldiers. The pits discharged dangerous emissions containing carbon monoxide, dioxins, particulate matter and carcinogens, but the military didn’t bother to test the air despite its own regulations requiring it to do so. All of the pits were run by contractor Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR).

 

As of August of this year, there were 251 pits in use in Afghanistan and 22 in Iraq. The Department of Defense is theoretically committed to lessening its reliance on burn pits by building incinerators and landfills, and minimizing waste through recycling and source reduction, but in practice it has been slow pursue any of these solutions.

 

At least 500 war veterans have reported illnesses blamed on exposure to the open-pit burning of toxic waste by the military and defense contractors Halliburton and its former subsidiary, KBR. Neither the DOD nor the VA has systematically collected information about burn pit victims. In addition, DOD has not implemented a plan for effectively monitoring air quality near burn pits.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

War-Zone Burn Pits Violate Laws, GAO Says (by Kelly Kennedy, Air Force Times)

Audit: Military Using Potentially Harmful Methods of Burning Trash (by Adam Levine, CNN)

Afghanistan and Iraq: DOD Should Improve Adherence to Its Guidance on Open Pit Burning and Solid Waste Management (Government Accountability Office) (pdf)

Burn Pits: the Agent Orange of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

U.S. Army Burn Pit Victim Dies after Battle with Leukemia (by Noel Brinkerhoff,AllGov)

U.S. Soldiers Sue Halliburton/KBR over Garbage Burning Illness and Death (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)