About two hundred Veterans filed suit against Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR), a private contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan, for exposure to asbestos. KBR is said to be responsible for massive burn pits which have left them with a host of diseases including exposure to asbestos. The huge burn pits are used to burn and dispose of medical waste, garbage, batteries, gas cans and building rubble containing asbestos.
Cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among American service members have risen by eighty percent since 2001. Even Veterans who have not been diagnosed with disease are in danger due to asbestos fibers that may be trapped in their lungs. Mesothelioma, a deadly form of lung cancer, is caused by asbestos fibers and the disease may not show up for as long as thirty or more years.
The problem has not gone unnoticed by Congress and several representatives are working on a bill to address it. Our Foreign Service men and women face the most dangerous of situations fighting for their country risking death every day. The least we can do as a country is to protect them from needless additional risks that can be prevented.
