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Burn pits are a waste management tool for armed forces overseas. However, the nature of waste today is different than half a century ago. The smoke, fumes, and particulate matter that have been observed emanating from these pits contain a heterogeneous variety of materials. Exact exposure levels are not known in veterans, however many of these materials are known to be linked to long term health effects and some have been classified and recognized as carcinogens via retrospective analysis in humans and laboratory experiments. The particulate matter produced from these burn pits can also deposit into the earth and during weather events such as dust storms, can circulate the particles to local inhabitants, potentially causing health effects for them, years later. Recognizing these long term health effects will enable people to not make these mistakes again, and to help those who have been exposed.
References:
VA Burn Pit Registry: https://veteran.mobilehealth.va.gov/AHBurnPitRegistry
Source Apportionment of Airborne Dioxins, Furans and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons at A U.S. Forward Operating Air Base During Iraq https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4978146/
Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and Afghanistan https://www.nap.edu/catalog/13209/long-term-health-consequences-of-exposure-to-burn-pits-in-iraq-and-afghanistan
Polychlorinated Dibenzo-para-Dioxins and Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans Volume 69. https://publications.iarc.fr/Book-And-Report-Series/Iarc-Monographs-On-The-Identification-Of-Carcinogenic-Hazards-To-Humans/Polychlorinated-Dibenzo--Em-Para-Em--Dioxins-And-Polychlorinated-Dibenzofurans-1997
Dioxin Revisited: Developments Since the 1997 IARC Classification of Dioxin as a Human Carcinogen https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1247514
Serum dioxin concentrations and breast ca risk in the Seveso Women's Health Study. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1240906/
Detection of hyperdiploidy and chromosome breakage in interphase human lymphocytes following exposure to the benzene metabolite hydroquinone using multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization with DNA probes. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7517507/
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