VA to begin processing burn pit claims Jan 1

Beginning January 1, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will start processing claims from veterans who believe their chronic illnesses are related to exposure to toxic burn pits while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

This new coverage is part of the PACT Act, which expands VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances.

Some experts predict a flood of veterans will come forward with claims, and with their arrival comes the need for a better faster way to get them the care they were promised.

During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there was often no infrastructure to properly dispose of waste, and troops were forced to burn it in giant open pits, often without regard to the dangerous fumes they might produce.

"You're sleeping next to it, you're eating next to it, you're working next to it, because it's all in a very contained area,” explains Army veteran Elba Barr, who lives in the Black Forest area.

Barr shared her story with KRDO earlier this year, including the extensive health problems she has suffered since her time overseas that include numerous cancers.

"I was told by a doctor that if I make it to 70, I have lived a full life,” she says.

In March, Barr and countless other veterans were excited to hear President Biden speak about the issue in his State of the Union address, and promise better care for them.

The PACT Act became law in August.

Along with the expanded benefits, it means veterans no longer have to prove their illnesses are due to burn pit exposure.

The VA will now assume the exposure to burn pits and/or fine particles of sand in the Middle East are the cause of many conditions.

The problem for people like Air Force veteran John Sepulveda is that in order to fully diagnose his lung condition, he had to undergo a painful biopsy to surgically remove a sample of tissue.

“We take a bite of it out and look at it under a microscope, and so now you've got a hole in your lung, and so that's painful.  The lung has very sensitive pain fibers, especially the lining of the lungs, so we'd like to avoid that,” explains Dr. Richard Meehan.

Meehan and his team at National Jewish Health in Denver not only researched the illnesses, but have developed a new "lung clearance index,” a high tech breathing test for people like Sepulveda, who says it was quicker and easier but just as accurate.

"You get the results right there, and it said there's abnormal function in his lungs, and it was right on par with what the diagnosis was from the vast lung biopsy,” says Sepulveda.

Dr. Cecilia Rose hopes her work to develop the test will help veterans to better understand their conditions and received the specialized care they need.

“In the same way that they have committed to protecting us, to serving our country and serving their country, we also need to make sure that if there is injury that occurs as a result of that service commitment, then that is taken care of,” she says.

The Center for Deployment-related Lung Disease within the National Jewish Health system was founded to find solutions and share them with the VA.

This new test is currently in some, but not all VA hospitals or clinics.

If you haven't already filed a claim with the VA related to the PACT Act, you can find a link to do that here.