Attention A T users. To access the menus on this page please perform the following steps. 1. Please switch auto forms mode to off. 2. Hit enter to expand a main menu option (Health, Benefits, etc). 3. To enter and activate the submenu links, hit the down arrow. You will now be able to tab or arrow up or down through the submenu options to access/activate the submenu links.

Public Health

Menu
Menu
Quick Links
Veterans Crisis Line Badge
My healthevet badge
 

Chemicals

Veterans' exposure to the chemicals listed below potentially could be linked to certain health problems, depending on a number of other factors.

Helicopter spraying herbicidesAgent Orange or
Other Herbicides
Herbicides used during the Vietnam era to destroy foliage and crops

Smoke rising from a burn pitBurn Pits
Open-air pit waste disposal at military sites

Smoke of sulfur fireSulfur Fire (Al Mishraq, Iraq)
A sulfur plant in Al Mishraq, Iraq burned almost a month in June 2003; large amounts of sulfur dioxide released into the air

Julian C. Smith Hall at Camp LejeuneCamp Lejeune Water Supplies
Tap water contaminated by industrial chemicals at Marine Corps Base Camp in the 1950s to 1980s

Chemical bottlesIndustrial Solvents
Usually liquid, used to dissolve, degrease, clean, strip paint, etc.

Spraying pesticidesPesticides (Gulf War)
Substances used to repel or destroy pests such as insects and pathogens

Side of tank in IraqDepleted Uranium
Uranium used in military tank armor and some bullets

Boots in dustChromium (Qarmat Ali)
Hexavalent chromium in sodium dichromate dust; water treatment plant in 2003

Man labeling PCB-containing transformersPCBs
Polychlorinated biphenyl used as coolant and insulating fluid

Man spraying foam from a hose.PFAS
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) found in products, including fire-fighting foams 

return to top go