Military's Toxic Exposure to Environmental Hazards

Agent Orange, Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pits, Gulf War, Ionizing Radiation, Toxic Embedded Fragments, and contaminated drinking water are just a few of the toxic exposures men and women who serve are exposed to. 

#FightForZero will continue to advocate for health registries for veterans exposed to specific environmental hazards by working with leaders to provide the necessary care and resources to help those suffering and support comprehensive research on #ToxicExposure. To learn more about these exposures, take a look through the videos below: 

PFAS Contamination: PFAS, short for per- or poly-fluoroalkyl substances, have seeped into the groundwater and, at times, spread into drinking water by firefighting foam runoff. Watch Dark Waters, the movie, to learn more about these forever chemicals.

Agent Orange: A powerful herbicide used by U.S. military forces during the Vietnam War to eliminate forest cover and crops. Agent Orange contained the deadly chemical dioxin and was the most commonly used herbicide.

Camp Lejeune: The water contamination at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune from 1953 to 1987 was contaminated with harmful chemicals at concentrations from 240 to 33400 times the levels permitted by safety standards. Base residents later developed cancer and other ailments. The main chemicals involved were volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as perchloroethylene (PCE), a dry cleaning solvent, and trichloroethylene (TCE), a degreaser, and more than 70 chemicals were identified as contaminating.

Burn Pits: Toxic smoke from burning many tons of assorted waste. Active duty report respiratory difficulties and headache in some cases. The type of waste burned was plastics, batteries, appliances, medicine, dead animals, and even human body parts, with jet fuel being used as an accelerant.

 Long-term health effects and acknowledging our military service members and veterans.

Air Force Civil Engineer Center
Restoration Advisory Board (RAB): Provided DoD's cleanup program and meant to increase public participation.
The Need to Protect People from Toxic Chemicals

Florida Superfund Site Profiles:

Homestead Air Force Base, Florida 
Jacksonville Naval Air Station, Florida
Patrick Air Force Base, Florida
Pensacola Naval Air Station, Florida
Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida
USN Air Station Cecil Field, Florida
Whiting Field Naval Air Station, Florida