After years of denials, Virginia is calling on millions of veterans exposed to fire pits to file lawsuits.

Andrew Myatt was ready to give his life for his country while serving in the army. After 9/11, he was assigned to Iraq, where he carried out dangerous missions such as searching for improvised explosive devices to defuse and destroy.

But the 24-year-old army veteran never thought the biggest risk to his health would come years later.

Myatt has a rare form of leukemia, which doctors say was most likely caused by exposure to toxins during his business trips. The toxins came from incineration pits, which were the main way the troops disposed of debris, often using jet fuel to start the flames.

“The last thing on your mind is that you know that the smoke I walk past or the solvents I poured into my car will kill me,” Myatt said.

He applied for health insurance through the Department of Veterans Affairs three times and was denied each time. For years, this was the reality for veterans who could not prove to the VA that their medical condition was due to exposure to the burn pit.

In August, President Biden signed PACT into law, extending VA health care eligibility for veterans exposed to toxic effects during the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the aftermath of the 9/11 wars. PACT removes the burden of proof from veterans by automatically linking asthma, certain cancers, and other illnesses to incinerator exposure.

Nearly four million veterans who have been deployed over the past 30 years have been exposed to fire pits, which urges veterans who may have been affected to file claims with the department, according to VA Secretary Denis McDonough.

Since the law was signed, some 260,000 lawsuits have been filed and 66,000 benefits have been issued, CBS News VA reported. At least 1.4 million veterans have been tested for toxic effects.

“We have a long way to go and we will not stop here in this building until we contact each of these veterinarians, make sure they know what they are entitled to, we register them and get this process. going,” McDonough said.

McDonough said the VA is in the process of determining what VA’s facilities need to care for potentially millions of patients.

“We’re running a process, item by item, to tell what they need there right now?” he said. “What will the additional veterinarians that will come out of this law require? And we are hiring very actively to meet those needs.”

While Myatt applauds the effort, he said it’s too little and too late for some veterans.

“Knowing that these 3.5 million troops have been needlessly exposed and we could better mitigate this and control this and not know how many of them died, died in vain after they came back because of this, it’s discouraging.” , – he said.

After filing his fourth lawsuit earlier this month, Myatt was finally approved for coverage through the VA after he ruled that his cancer was the result of his business trips.

Despite evidence that the toxins from the burning pits can harm troops, the Department of Defense has yet to ban them. A department spokesman stated that “it does not currently operate any open air incineration pits” but “it currently monitors 6 open air incineration pits that are located in/nearby United States personnel in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Niger. .”

“Our efforts to reduce the use of incineration pits include increasing contact with host countries and partners, asking for alternative methods of waste disposal, and investing in technologies that can turn waste disposal into useful energy for the military,” the spokesman said.

Veterans can apply for VA.gov/PACT.

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