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.