I
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2419
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 14, 2009
Mr. Bishop of New York (for himself and Ms. Shea-Porter) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Defense to establish a medical surveillance system to identify members of the Armed Forces exposed to chemical hazards resulting from the disposal of waste in Iraq and Afghanistan, to prohibit the disposal of waste by the Armed Forces in a manner that would produce dangerous levels of toxins, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Military Personnel War Zone Toxic
Exposure Prevention Act
.
Identification of health effects related to hazardous disposal site
Establishment
The Secretary of Defense shall establish and administer a system to identify members of the Armed Forces who were potentially exposed to a hazardous disposal site and any negative health effects that may be related to such exposure. The Secretary shall administer such system using existing medical surveillance systems.
Notification
If the Secretary learns that a member of the Armed Forces was potentially exposed to a hazardous disposal site, the Secretary shall—
give notice of the potential exposure to—
the member;
the commanding officer of the unit to which the member belonged at the time of potential exposure; and
in the case of a member of the National Guard, the Adjutant General of the State concerned; and
inform the member that the member may be included in the system required by subsection (a).
Registration
For each member of the Armed Forces notified of a potential exposure under subsection (b), the Secretary shall collect information for purposes of the system required by subsection (a). Such information shall include—
the locations that the member was deployed, including dates of such deployment;
the approximate distance of the living and working quarters of the member from a hazardous disposal site;
the types of materials disposed of at the site;
the length of time the member was exposed to such site;
any symptoms experienced by the member while deployed;
any symptoms the member experiences at the time of submitting such information to the Secretary; and
other information the Secretary considers appropriate.
Examination
Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary learns that a member of the Armed Forces was potentially exposed to a hazardous disposal site, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall—
provide such member—
a complete physical examination; and
consultation and counseling with respect to the results of such physical examination; and
ensure that documentation of the potential exposure is placed in the medical record of the member maintained by the Department of Defense.
Proposed capabilities
Sufficiency
The Secretary shall determine if existing medical surveillance systems are sufficient to identify all potential negative health effects resulting from exposure to a hazardous disposal site.
Report
Not later than six months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report with any recommendations to change existing medical surveillance systems in order to improve the identification of negative health effects resulting from exposure to a hazardous disposal site.
Annual Report
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report describing—
the status of implementing the system required by subsection (a); and
the incidences of illnesses among members of the Armed Forces notified under subsection (b) and whether such illnesses may have been caused by exposure to a hazardous disposal site.
Definitions
In this section:
The term existing medical surveillance systems means medical surveillance systems and other data in the possession of the Secretary as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
The term exposure to a hazardous disposal site includes the following:
Exposure to the fumes emanating from a hazardous disposal site for—
more than one year if the member of the Armed Forces was deployed to a military installation that made use of open pits to burn waste; or
any period of time when exposure to such fumes was intensive.
A situation where a member of the Armed Forces with service-related health problems demonstrates significant exposure to fumes emanating from a hazardous disposal site.
The term hazardous disposal site means a location where hazardous methods of disposing of mass amounts of waste were used during Operation Enduring Freedom or Operations Iraqi Freedom, including the use of open pits to burn waste.
The term member of the Armed Forces includes former members of the Armed Forces.
Prohibition on disposal of wastes in a manner that produces dangerous levels of toxins
In general
The Secretary of Defense shall prohibit the disposal of waste during contingency operations lasting more than six months in a manner that exposes members of the Armed Forces or civilian employees of the Department of Defense to the following:
Environmental toxins, including dioxin, benzene, and other carcinogens.
Combinations of toxins that may lead to long-term negative health effects.
Low levels of toxins that exceed military exposure guidelines for exposures of over one year.
Regulations
Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section.
Report
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the status of waste disposal techniques used by members of the Armed Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, including, for each military department, an assessment of the compliance with the regulations required under this section.