Ban on Burn Pits Is Included in Defense Bill

The 2010 defense authorization bill signed by President Obama Oct. 28 includes a ban on the open-air burning of hazardous chemical waste in war zones.

Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon pushed the burn pit ban in the Senate.

He said in a statement that he introduced the amendment when he learned that Oregon soldiers who had been exposed to the fumes from such pits were suffering serious health problems, such as respiratory ailments.

The bill allows for exceptions to the ban only in cases when the secretary of defense finds that there is no other option.

In those cases, the Defense Department must report to Congress every six months to justify their continued use. The bill also requires the military to develop alternatives to pit burning.

A significant number of the roughly 2 million service members who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have been exposed to toxic fumes from the burn pits, according to a statement by U.S. Rep. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y.

Bishop and New Hampshire Democrat Carol Shea-Porter introduced the amendment to the bill in the House earlier this year.

Numerous class-action lawsuits have been filed by military personnel against the two largest government contractors in Iraq, KBR Inc. and Halliburton Co., alleging that the companies ignored safety rules by burning waste in large, outdoor pits.

The troops say they suffer from various health problems from their exposure to toxic fumes from the burn pits.

The companies dispose of waste in pits at several military facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan. The pits are used to burn paint, solvents, asbestos, animal carcasses, tires, lithium batteries, rubber, plastic and medical waste.

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has consolidated 13 actions for pretrial proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland as In re Battlefield Waste Disposal Litigation, No. 2083.

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