NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3/NN_1993_3.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/10335

Internet Message Format | 1993-01-25 | 3.8 KB

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From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive
Subject: Vet Affairs Panel to Investigate Testing of Mustard Gas by DOD
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Date: 25 Jan 93 18:20:44 GMT
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Here is a press release from the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

 Veterans' Affairs Panel to Investigate Testing of Mustard Gas by DOD
 To: National Desk
 Contact: Howard Bauleke of the House Veterans Affairs Committee,
          202-225-6601

   WASHINGTON, Jan. 22  -- U.S. Rep. Jim Stattery (D-Kansas),
chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Subcommittee on Compensation, Pension and Insurance, announced today
that the subcommittee will conduct oversight hearings, as early as
March, to investigate the Defense Department's secret testing of
hazardous substances on members of the Armed Forces, primarily during
World War II.
   The subcommittee also intends to explore the Department of
Veterans Affairs' (VA) handling of veterans' claims for benefits
based on disabilities believed to have resulted from the tests.
   Slattery's action comes in response to a recent report of the
National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine (IOM) titled
"Veterans at Risk: The Health Effects of Mustard Gas and Lewisite,"
which indicates a causal relationship between numerous medical
conditions and exposure to significant levels of mustard gas.
   "Although the primary focus of this hearing will be on mustard gas
and its potential health effects we need to know whether other types
of chemical substances have been tested on our service members, and
we need to know whether their health has been adversely affected as a
result," said Slattery.  "If the disabilities they are now suffering
from are related to their participation in these secret tests, the
government has the responsibility to see to it that they are properly
compensated and that their healthcare needs are fully met."
   According to the IOM report more than 60,000 former military
personnel participated in the tests.  However, in most instances,
individuals were sworn to secrecy and military records which might
support their claims for service-connected compensation from the VA
have not been available and may not exist.
   "I'm concerned that the shroud of secrecy still exists," said
Slattery, "but we intend to fully explore this issue during our
hearings."
   Largely due to the lack of test documentation and absence of any
medical follow up, the VA, in 1991, identified seven conditions,
chronic forms of laryngitis, bronchitis, emphysema, asthma,
conjunctivitis, keratitis, and corneal opacities, which would be
presumed to be service connected if suffered by a veteran who
participated in full-body, field, or chamber experiments to test
protective clothing during World War II.  Shortly after the release
of the IOM report, the VA announced its intention to expand this list
to include respiratory cancers [nasopharyngeal, laryngeal, lung
(except mesothelioma)], skin cancer, chronic pulmonary disease, and
leukemia (acute non-lymphocytic type resulting from nitrogen
mustard).  Slattery indicated his general support for the VA's
actions but stated that "we have some concerns about the whole matter
which we hope to get into during the hearing."
   The subcommittee plans to invite representatives from the
Institute of Medicine, the Department of Defense, and the VA to
testify.  The hearing has been tentatively set for March 10.
 -30-
--
Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario    [e-mail]