Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
The burn pit at the air base in Balad, Iraq, burned 24 hours a day, seven days a week and included materials such as Styrofoam, metals, plastics and medical waste, kept burning with jet fuel.
Researchers at the Minneapolis Veterans Medical Center believe they are closer to connecting the dots between soldiers' exposures to burn pits and toxic fumes and the broad array of health problems that can follow.
Using a new animal model, rodents are placed in an enclosed chamber and move freely while they inhale substances that simulate what soldiers experienced during deployments to Iraq or other locations in Asia or Africa. Carbon particles, for example, represent the black smoke soldiers inhaled when everything from tires to equipment to ordinance was burned near their bases.
The goal is to identify patterns of inflammation, produced by the immune system in response to the toxins, that signify burn pit-related illnesses and predict the resulting health problems, said Tammy Butterick, a VA health science specialist leading the research.
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