Waste Management: DOD Needs to Fully Assess the Health Risks of Burn Pits

Abstract

Burn pits help base commanders manage waste generated by U.S. forces overseas, but they also produce harmful emissions that military and other health professionals believe may result in chronic health effects for those exposed. This statement provides information on the extent to which DOD has assessed any health risks of burn pit use. This statement is based on a GAO report issued in September 2016 (GAO-16-781). The report was conducted in response to section 313 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015. Specifically, GAO assessed the methodology DOD used in conducting a review of the compliance of the military departments and combatant commands with DOD instructions governing the use of burn pits in contingency operations and the adequacy of a DOD report for the defense committees. GAO also obtained updates from DOD on actions taken to assess health risks from burn pits since September 2016.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 07, 2018
Accession Number
AD1157309

Entities

People

  • Cary Russell
  • Guy Lofaro
  • Jennifer Spence
  • Lorraine Ettaro
  • Matthew A. Young
  • Shahrzad Nikoo

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Combatant Commanders
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of Veterans Affairs
  • Deployment
  • Engineering
  • Environmental Exposure
  • Environmental Health
  • Governments
  • Health
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • National Security
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • United States Central Command
  • United States Government
  • Waste Management

Readers

  • Environmental Remediation and Restoration.
  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting