The Affects of a Toxic Workplace
- The U.S. Air Force is finally being “transparent” about the potential toxic dangers that nuclear missile officers have faced for decades in the workplace after hundreds of “missileers” have come forward with cancer diagnoses.
- After downplaying the potentially harmful environment in the past, the Air Force has launched a wider probe this year, taking the health concerns more seriously based on the alarming number of cancer cases.
- More data is expected in early 2024 as the Air Force investigates how many former or current missile workers have cancer.
- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs offers various tools to assist veterans and their families with all-things health related. Some of these resources consist of disability benefits. military exposure, and health exams.
After downplaying the potentially harmful environment in the past, the Air Force has launched a wider probe this year, taking the health concerns more seriously.
Read More“The workplace is free of health hazards,” a rep for the Air Force stated on Dec. 30, 2021 of the nuclear missile facilities, according to The Associated Press. The outlet obtained “hundreds of pages” of documents dated back to the 1980s detailing asbestos exposure and other toxins found in the missile officers’ underground workspaces. Asbestos is a mineral fiber that occurs in rock and soil and is linked to lung cancer. The asbestos readings were 50 times higher than safety standards given by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Another “potentially critical” finding listed was the lack of fresh air intake and workers being exposed to unsafe levels of carbon monoxide.
The AP reported in January that at least nine missile workers have since been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. So far, one of the nine has died.
The article prompted “hundreds” more cancer cases to come forward, leading to the Air Force to expand its study, taking thousands of soil, air, and water samples at all of the facilities.
“Sometimes, illnesses tend to occur by chance alone,” the AP noted of a follow-up statement provided by the Air Force in 2005 regarding the potentially cancer-causing conditions
“We’ve determined that additional study is warranted,” Lt. Col. Keith Beam, an Air Force medical officer told the outlet earlier this month of the preliminary data findings before the wider release.
“We can’t go back and test to fully quantify what was there in the ’90s or 2000s, or even the ’50s and ’60s,” said Col. Tory Woodard, commander of the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine. “But we can use this date to help us inform what those risks might have been.”
The U.S. Air Force spoke with reporters at a Dec. 1 briefing and revealed that “four locations in the underground launch control capsules where the missileers worked had unsafe levels of PCBs — oily or waxy substances that have been identified as a likely carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency. Decontamination of those sites is underway.”
More data is expected in early 2024 as the Air Force investigates how many former or current missile workers have cancer.
Resources For Veterans With Cancer
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs offers various tools to assist veterans and their families with all-things health related.
Some of these resources consist of disability benefits. military exposure, and health exams.
In regard to disability benefits, the VA explains, “VA disability compensation (pay) offers a monthly tax-free payment to Veterans who got sick or injured while serving in the military and to Veterans whose service made an existing condition worse.
“You may qualify for VA disability benefits for physical conditions (like a chronic illness or injury) and mental health conditions (like PTSD) that developed before, during, or after service. Find out how to apply for and manage the Veterans disability benefits you’ve earned.”
As for assistance with military exposure, as “veterans may have been exposed to a range of chemical, physical, and environmental hazards during military service,” the VA offers information on potential exposures that may be linked to a variety of health problems, including different types of cancer.
Free health evaluations are also offered to eligible veterans who may have been exposed to the following:
- Chemicals (including Agent Orange and contaminated water)
- Radiation (from nuclear weapons and X-rays, etc. )
- Air Pollutants (such as burn pit smoke or dust)
- Occupational Hazards (for example: asbesto or lead)
- Warfare Agents (chemical and biological weapons)
The VA explains on its website, “VA’s health registry evaluation is a free, voluntary medical assessment for Veterans who may have been exposed to certain environmental hazards during military service.
“The evaluations alert Veterans to possible long-term health problems that may be related to exposure to specific environmental hazards during their military service. VA has established several health registries to track and monitor the health of specific groups of Veterans. The registry data helps VA understand and respond to these health problems more effectively.”
Veterans may be eligible to take part in one ore more of the following health registries:
- Agent Orange Registry
- Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry
- Gulf War Registry (includes Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn)
- Ionizing Radiation Registry
- Depleted Uranium Follow-Up Program
- Toxic Embedded Fragment Surveillance Center
Additionally, the VA explains that approximately 50,000 cases of cancer are reported annually in the VA Central Cancer Registry.
Contributing by Danielle Cinone.
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