An article listed in Military.com today called “Balad Burn Pit May Pose Health Risk” sparked my interest mostly because I spent a year long deployment stationed in Balad, Iraq myself. Along with the thousands of other troops that have been stationed in Balad (or, LSA Anaconda), one thing stands out in all of our memories: the burn pit.
The burn pit is a massive pile of garbage that burns 24/7 which leaves a long trail of smoke lifting into the sky and, depending on how the wind shifts, into the lungs of the soldiers and civilians stationed there. The plume is so large that “software engineers writing a program to help fighter pilots navigate their way onto the base made it a central part of the digitally simulated skyline”
During my post-deployment health assessment, I made sure to document my concern for breathing in the burn pit air for 12 months even though the military denied it causing any adverse affects.
But there’s a new memo being circulated that was written by environmental engineer Darrin Curtis, who served with the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group at Balad from September 2006 to January 2007 (I left Balad in October, 2006).
Here’s what he says:
He expressed his dismay with the burning of toxic chemicals, plastics and other toxic waste — including, according to some reports, amputated limbs from the base hospital — and the lack of any apparent concern for the health of those breathing in the smoke.
Curtis wrote that health risks associated with smoke inhalation and respiratory exposure to toxic fumes produced by the burn could result in chronic ailments for service members at a base already ripe with other wartime hazards, including frequent rounds of indirect fire that earned the facility the nickname “Mortaritaville.”
“It is amazing that the burn pit has been able to operate without restrictions over the past few years without significant engineering controls put in place”.
Below are my personal pictures of the burn put from my deployment in 2005-2006. They show the actual pit and also the visual effect it has on the 25 square kilometer base:
Balad Air Base is quickly becoming to “Ramstein” of Iraq. I’m willing to wager that it will be the next permanent duty station for American troops…. just as we have in South Korea and Germany. American troops have been stationed in Balad for 5 years now. I’m glad to see the truth of its health hazards are coming to light.
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Ha! I knew it!
I just posted about this myself and have linked to your other site. I blog primarily about the soldier electrocutions, electrical safety and KBR waste fraud and abuse. Feel free to link to any of those posts and help get the word out.
Thanks for posting these awesome pics.
What, you mean the loss of hearing from living on an airbase wasn’t enough?!?! ROFL. We found out about them using the burn pit for amputated limbs and most medical waste while we were there. Someone went and had a shit fit leading to us adding the “I lived to a toxic waste dump” into our medical paperwork.
I just remembered something else about that. The hospital was supposed to quit throwing limbs in there and whoever dealt with med waste was to find some other way of it’s disposal due to the uproar it caused when we were there.
@ Liv
Do you remember if they solved the problem of the “excessive limbs”? What did they propose to do with them if not throw them into the burn pit?
Also, do you remember if you got an push-back about writing on your Post Deployment Health Assessment forms that you were concerned about the toxic fumes of the burn pit? I know for me, I wrote that I was concerned about it but none of our docs questioned me. I’ve heard of some soldiers being told to remove that concern from their PDHA forms. What about you?
I know there was a letter we were given about being exposed to the burn pit. I know that on the PDHA they ask you if you were exposed to any toxic chemicals or the such. I answered yes and was never questioned about why or what it was I was exposed to. The only resolution was that no type of medical waste whatsoever was to be dumped at the burn pit anymore…God only knows what they did with it…probably just buried it. The 332nd were the people in charge of the airforce base while we were there. (I believe that was them, could be wrong.) I was at the burn pit a few times and I never saw body parts, but considering everything else that was dumped there it wouldn’t be a long stretch. I wouldn’t be surprised if Balad ended up being a superfund site at some point.
Though some disease can surivive outside the body and even be inhaled, I’d be more worried about what else (chemicals for example) that was being burned into the air as well as the dust (I guess you could call it sand) would do to us in the long run. Just in case it didn’t bother you enough, there was a lot of electronic equipment to, so there was some (though probably minimal) risk of radiation exposure.
Again, one last thing…even if you didn’t mark it on your PDHA, you have orders showing that you were there… I don’t know if that helps, but at least you can prove you were exposed.
I was on the QRF team for LSA Anaconda from 04-05. The smoke was horrible all the time. It gave me headaches at the time. Now I have breathing problems. The Army (Madigan Hospital) said it’s Anxioty (PTSD) related. I said no , it’s from breathing toxic fumes in Anaconda. At the time I was there, the QRF team was located just south of the CASH and across the street from the “Fire Pit”… Several of the soldiers on our Anaconda QRF team have also experienced various breathing problems. It’s a serious problem.
Joe
Thanks Joe and Liv for adding your experiences of the burn pit in Balad! I think it would be great for soldiers to have a centralized place where they can describe their experience with it and report any ill effects they have had during and after their contact with the pit. hmmmm… I feel a new post on the horizon.
I lived on Balad Air Base for one year April 07 to March 08. I worked on the north east corner of the installation. The burn pit plume nearly always headed our way. Today I am experiencing skin lesions, stomach issues and headaches that are unique to me. Is anyone else out there experiencing these symptoms?
I only spent 4 months at Balad, but the burn pit was hideous. I worked mostly night shifts and when the temperatures would cool down overnight; it would cause a temperature inversion that would trap the smoke close to the ground. Depending on the wind direction, it would cause the thick smoke to move through the housing area like a thick fog. As a weather person I had to call on numerous occasions and have the fire department put out the fire because the smoke got so thick the aircraft didn't have enough visibility to land. Since that time I have had some issues with my breathing and I have also had dry patches of skin that constantly flake off. The doctor said it isn't scoriasis but doesn't know what it is. Increased headaches have also been an issue. Not real bad, just seem to have a slight headache most of the time.
I spent 3 years and 2 months in Balad.. I got home last week .. I have constant nosebleds.. joint pain and sores on my body.. they canceled my insurance at the day I arrived in the USA.. I am scared..
I was stationed in LSA Anaconda for 1 year. Exposure to the burn pit was daily. my wife also stationed there became pregnant. she was sent home about one month into her pregnancy. when my wife gave birth to our daughter, there were several complications. no anus , limb deformities, missing fingers, holes in the heart, and many others. my life is nothing but watching my daughter in absolute pain and agony. I now experience somthing that destroys me down to my soul. I spit blood and have lots of medical problems myself now. Maybe one day it will be over. I was a good soldier, but I will die a forgotten and broken man. I would always say "for God and country". now I ask God and my country for help.
I worked the burn pit and the garbage trucks that filled it from 2004-2005. If the government was really concerned, they would have put in place the incinerators that were requested a lot faster. I see a lot of complaints, but no recommened solutions. Limbs being burned would have been the responsiblity of the hospital run by the 332 Expeditionary Squadron.
Does the waste for over 30000 people magically disappear? I think not.
My son left for Balad this morning and I was just trying to get a feel of were he was going to be and now I have to worry about our own country killing him also. He has breathing problems already. My God be with all of you and Thank You for all you do.
Jody, My daughter will be leaving for Balad too! This information regarding the "Burn Pit" scares me!!! What are we (USA) doing to our children?????? OMG
I was stationed in Camp Anaconda from 2004-2005. When I returned home was body was thrown in all types of directions. I was healthy with no medical problems whatsoever. Now, five years later, I have high blood pressure, high cholestol, adnormal heart, breathing problems, back pains, problems with heat exposure leading to heat cramps, and a couple more minor problems. My body is total gone. I went from playing sports all day long to not being able to play for a couple of hours without dehydrating or feeling light-headed. I don’t have any proof about the burn pit and all the chemicals that it held while I was there, but my body is proof that something is wrong. I just don’t see how you can be 100% healthy before you’re deployed and within months after you’re home your body seems to have aged 20 years.
I was at Balad from Dec 04 – Oct 05 and We could see the pit burn from our hooches. I took pictures and video of it. I don’t have any effects from the smoke but I have issues from other things from over there. I hope my pictures can help other soldiers if they need it.
I was also in Anaconda and have had nothing but problems with breathing. I do have the memorandum of the findings of the burn pit and all that was burned in it. I added that to my medical records. If anyone needs a copy, please contact me at SLAM1DOWN@COMCAST.NET. People look at me like i’m crazy when I tell them all that is wrong with me. My back is so bad that I am going to lose my job because of it. I can’t hold a conversation without running out of breath, when I get up from any prolonged sitting, it takes me awhile to be able to even move my feet or even stand up straight because the pain in my feet and my back. I know of one time, I was standing up and I couldn’t even move, my back locked up. I couldn’t even drag my feet across the floor, but the Army still thinks that I should perform a PT test and also want to demote me because I am overweight. I wonder if they new the actual pain I am in daily, if that would matter? I think not because I tell them all the time. I also have PTSD, I have Reactive airway disease, my knees are shot, my shoulders are shot, I have planter faciites. It’s amazing how I have dedicated 19 years of my life to an army who just wants me to be brushed under the carpet never being heard. Someone really needs to hear these soldiers, to include myself. There are so many things that are wrong and is still being allowed to happen. When will it stop? When all the soldiers cant get out of bed anymore because they served a Military that don’t care about them once they return home? I was healthy, I never had to rely on pills to just move my feet or get out of bed, to function as normal as possible. Now, I take 12 pills a day to function. How fair? When will I get better? I cant go in large crowds, I cant stand noise, to hear any sudden loud noise I jump and am very startled. I have chest pains, but my heart is fine. Where is all this coming from? It makes me angry. I am sometimes looked at like a monster so I have secluded myself in my house. I have no social life at all because I can’t relate to people who haven’t been. It’s depressing. I can write all day about this. I just want to be a voice that is heard.
Did any of you read the paper that you recieved from Balad about the smoke pit? It states that you were not exposed to anything above a normal American dose of toxins. I attended Field San. while deployed there and they told us the same thing… it looks bad but it is no worse than living in American smog.
Apparently we are reading entirely two different papers, because the one that I have states that we were exposed to things in that burn pit that has been the worst seen in the 10 years of investigation. When you have all those chemicals and body parts and computers and everything else of only GOD knows what being burned and plus the fine dust (THAT AMERICA DOESN’T HAVE) then yes, it is a problem and a lot worse then the “smog” as you call it in the the U.S
Im in the Hospital in my bed writing this comment. I was always very healthy and energetic but since my return from Balad i have noticed that i get sick more often. In Balad i got two of the worse bronchial infections i ever had which they treated with the Z pack ( antibiotics) My sickness lasted for about two to three` weeks which was weird for me. After comming home i feel less active and i get sick more often. my doctors always treat melike im comming down with a cold and treatmy symptoms in that way. this time i developed a lesion in my toungue i came into the emergency room and after ruuning test they found my blood was abnormal. ???? They dont know why ???? they dont know whet caused it ???? they are doing bone marrow biopsy today and all i can think about is the burning pit in Iraq and those 6 anthrax vaccines i got while i was there. whhhhats wrong with my blood the doctors have no idea and are still studying it but im scared….waiting
I’m so sorry to hear you’ve been sick and are waiting on results of your blood test. Please update us with the results and we’ll keep you in our minds.
I am so sorry to hear of anyone else going through any problems then what I already experience. I have been home for two years and still am being looked at like a monster. They always want to blame not breathing properly, stuffy and being severly congested on allergies that just acquired. Flaks, I pray that you get better and all the rest of us as well who have been affected, seems though prayers are the only “hope” that we all have.
Thank you for this topic Can I deploy topics here or send it to you for publication I am pleased to take part with you, I think that everything will change, and certainly I see things from the other side,welcome all
I was stationed at LSA Anaconda from SEP 06 – AUG 07. I was living on the West Side next to the Gym along the runway. Not only was the smoke from the burn pit horrible some days it was thick ash falling like snow. The ash would cover us, our gear, and looked like North Dakota in the winter except it was 120 degrees outside. Our BDE was required to take APFT in that stuff. One of them the smoke was so bad we could not see where we were going and the 1SG ran in front of the us to be a lookout for curbs and vehicles. Upon returning I have difficulty breathing I tend to yawn a lot even though I am not tired but feels like I can’t get enough oxygen. I did not say anything for a while but started speaking to some of the other soldiers I was deployed with and they are experiencing the same things. Lots of headaches ect… I have shortness of breath a lot of time even in a conversation. I still take my PT test but I can no longer run the distance and speed I used too! I feel like I aged 15 years in that one year MOB to Balad.
Here I am again, almost 3 years since I returned from Anaconda, Iraq and still experiencing shortness of breath and it seems as though I am constantly congested. I still am couging like crazy and most of the time I can’t even hold a conversation without coughing my head off. Its a deep, bronchial cough and it hurts. I will get better for a couple of days, then right back to coughing for weeks at a time. I sure hope that someone, some where realizes that almost 3 years is a prolonged health rish if you ask me. Maybe if they had to live with the same symptoms as the rest of us, they too would start complaining. All I want is something to help me, not for doctors to look at me like I have lost my mind and just making things up. These posts from all these soldiers prove that I’m not the only one. Now let’s do something about it. The Doctors sure are quick to tell me to lose weight, but they aren’t quick to give me an answer as to why when I walk to try and lose that weight, I gasp for air. Hmmmm. Inquiry minds wanna know.