Although the U.S. military has used burn pits in other conflicts, one expert says they have been exceptionally large in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Although the U.S. military has used burn pits in other conflicts, one expert says they have been exceptionally large in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Scott Nelson/Getty Images
If you heard America’s veterans mention one thing about the Pact Act that President Joe Biden signed into law Wednesday, it probably has to do with burnouts.
These were huge piles of uniforms, equipment, computers and other things that the US military burned to prevent them from falling into the hands of the wrong people.
American veterans, including those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, will be able to access VA support for a variety of medical problems they may have suffered from exposure to burn pits.
But soldiers aren’t the only people still struggling with their devastating effects.
Kali Roubai is an assistant professor of anthropology at Purdue University and studies the toxic effects of the US war in Iraq.
While the U.S. military has used burn pits in other conflicts, Rubai said they have been exceptionally large in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Taxpayers funded the US occupation, but the people who were actually spending that money were private contractors and they didn’t have contracts,” she said. “That means if a computer or a tank or a uniform was damaged, it was more profitable to actually throw everything into a pit and then sell the new ones to the US military.”
While the PACT Act opens up new avenues for American veterans seeking treatment for medical problems they suffered after serving near burn pits, it does not address harm to civilians living in nearby neighborhoods.
Rubaii’s research brought her into contact with Iraqis struggling with the intergenerational effects of their exposure.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Highlights of the interview
On how Iraqis were affected by burn pits
The veterans saw acute short-term exposure, and they were at their peak health. Iraqis were at all stages of their lives when they were exposed to yamins, and they were exposed for more than 10 years. Even those who live far and downwind face many and varied health consequences.
Farmers living downwind have noticed many birth defects and fertility problems with their crops and livestock. And then children note symptoms of dizziness, problems with balance. There have been many cases of brain cancer in and around burn pits.
Iraqi farmers who raise livestock near the burn pits have seen their animals become sicker and suffer higher rates of birth defects than expected.
If Rubai
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If Rubai
Iraqi farmers who raise livestock near the burn pits have seen their animals become sicker and suffer higher rates of birth defects than expected.
If Rubai
About possible intergenerational effects
In some ways, burn pits are the least violent of the Iraqi people. For example, in 2004, about 70% of Fallujah was razed to the ground. This means no water, no electricity, no hospitals, mass injuries and deaths, lots of air pollution. So today in Fallujah, the lasting effects of this level of bombing are that the electricity is out for only a few hours. My tap water is brown there. You can’t drink it. Hospitals still lack the necessary equipment.
Fallujah Hospital is still suffering from the damage it sustained during the bombing of the city.
If Rubai
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If Rubai
Fallujah Hospital is still suffering from the damage it sustained during the bombing of the city.
If Rubai
So it was after all of this destruction that the doctors in the Fallujah hospital started to notice in about 2004 all these babies that were born with birth defects. And they started cataloging it because it was just anecdotal to note that there were more and more of them. And the tragedy here is that it’s not clear what the cause is, but it definitely suggests that there’s an environmental factor, and people notice that the timeline indicates something about the US occupation.
About the damage of war when it comes to the environment
One of the common problems people face is that during sandstorms, the air quality is very poor, and every microparticle the wind can pick up ends up in people’s lungs, on their teeth, and everywhere else. And this is the problem of climate change. Of course we have more and more sand and dust storms in Iraq. And the more remnants of war are lying around, the more people inhale war. They inhale the past of war.
Much of the city of Fallujah has not been rebuilt since the bombardment that began in 2004.
If Rubai
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If Rubai
Much of the city of Fallujah has not been rebuilt since the bombardment that began in 2004.
If Rubai
About the families she met and the impact of the war on their lives
A few months ago, I had to watch a child die. And she was just such a dynamic, inquisitive child who was born in Fallujah with multiple birth defects. Some organs were outside the body. There was a hole in her heart. She lived for about a week. She looked very deeply at everyone, and she really fought for her life.
Her birth defects were likely caused by environmental factors and burn pits, but the hospital’s crumbling infrastructure was the cause of her death. If she had been in a place where the hospital hadn’t been bombed several times, maybe she would have survived her birth defects. And I think perhaps one of the most difficult legacies in Iraq is that environmental damage to people’s bodies need not be fatal if the infrastructure is in place to withstand it.
I feel that now that the PACT Act has been passed, health justice advocates in the U.S. should reach out to Iraqis who are dealing with incredible burdens and who will be very interested in working together to expand the kind of restorative care that is now available to veterans to the Iraqi people. , who lives after these burns.
