Changes to Burn Pit Registry

By Stephanie Eber

Since 2014, VA’s Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry has been an important tool for recent Veterans and service members to record their airborne hazard exposures and related health conditions, with an optional examination with a health care provider to learn more.

A total of 327,626 Veterans and service members have joined the registry as of Aug. 17, 2022, and this number continues to grow.

VA is making several changes to the registry to expand eligibility and make it easier to use. You are now eligible to participate if you were deployed to one of three new locations: Syria or Uzbekistan since Sept. 11, 2001, or Egypt since August 1990.

Other Veterans and service members who can participate include those who deployed to the Southwest Asia theater of operations any time after Aug. 2, 1990, or Afghanistan or Djibouti on or after Sept. 11, 2001.

In addition, VA is making the registry more user-friendly and ensuring that Veterans have the option to have an in-person health exam.

These changes include:

• VA is revising the questionnaire to abbreviate questions about short deployments. This will save you time when you complete the questionnaire.
• Registry participants can now return to the questionnaire portal at any time after completion to add additional deployments. Previously, registrants were only allowed one-time access.
• Veterans should be contacted within 90 days by their local VA medical facility to schedule the exam if they opt to have one. Veterans may also contact their local Environmental Health Coordinator to learn more or if they have changed addresses or email contact since requesting an examination.

Please note that the registry is separate from the VA disability compensation process and is not required to file a claim. Additionally, under the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022, all Veterans enrolled in health care will receive a toxic exposure screening, which is also separate from the burn pit registry.

Sign up in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry

In addition to improvements to the registry, VA is helping Veterans with airborne hazard exposure concerns by requiring all VA health care providers to take a training on environmental exposure assessments.

VA is also partnering with the American College of Preventive Medicine to offer a certificate program on military environmental exposures, which provides additional training for VA and community providers.

If you haven’t already participated in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, now is a great time to sign up.  Learn more by visiting the secure registry portal at HOME – Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry (va.gov).

To read more stories on the Airborne Hazards and Open Pit Registry, visit https://news.va.gov/?s=Airborne%20Hazards%20and%20Open%20Pit%20Registry.