Burn pits in Afghanistan were open-air waste sites where the U.S. military incinerated trash, chemicals, plastics, medical waste, munitions, batteries, and petroleum products, often using jet fuel as an accelerant. They operated at hundreds of bases from 2001 onward and exposed the vast majority of deployed service members to toxic smoke now linked to cancers, respiratory disease, and other chronic illnesses. If you served in Afghanistan on or after September 11, 2001, and later developed one of the recognized conditions, the PACT Act of 2022 lets you claim VA disability benefits without having to prove your illness was caused by your service.
How Widespread Burn Pit Exposure Was
The burning was routine, daily, and everywhere. At large bases, an estimated 65,000 to 85,000 pounds of solid waste were burned each day.1American Public Health Association. Cleanup of US Military Burn Pits in Iraq and Afghanistan2U.S. Government Accountability Office. DOD Should Improve Adherence to Its Guidance on Open Pit Burning and Solid Waste Management3National Academies of Sciences. Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and Afghanistan – Chapter 4
Small and remote sites relied on open burning most heavily. Over 90% of sites with fewer than 100 personnel had burn pits, about three-quarters of medium sites did, and nearly half of installations housing more than a thousand troops still burned waste in the open. A 2024 study by researchers at Brown University’s School of Public Health analyzed 54 bases in Afghanistan and found that between 2005 and 2012, 67% to 86% of those bases used burn pits in any given year.4National Center for Biotechnology Information. Deployment to Military Bases With Open Burn Pits and Respiratory and Cardiovascular Disease Across nearly 475,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in that study, only about 14.5% had no burn pit exposure at all.
Even after the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2010 prohibited open-air burning of hazardous waste unless a commander certified no alternative was feasible, Afghanistan was slow to change. Between 59% and 71% of Afghan bases were still operating pits through 2013. Only in 2014 did open burning drop meaningfully, to 27% of bases.
What the Smoke Contained
Air sampling at bases in Afghanistan and Iraq identified fine particulate matter (PM2.5), dioxins, furans, volatile organic compounds like benzene and 1,3-butadiene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metals including lead and antimony, and acrolein, a highly toxic combustion byproduct.5National Center for Biotechnology Information. Burn Pit Emissions Exposure and Respiratory Health6National Academies of Sciences. Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits – Chapter 7 At Bagram Airfield, researchers documented elevated PM2.5 and acrolein levels. Several of the substances detected are classified as known human carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the U.S. National Toxicology Program.7American Cancer Society. Burn Pits Particulate matter routinely exceeded both Army exposure guidelines and EPA air quality standards.
Health Conditions Linked to Burn Pit Exposure
The illnesses show up years after deployment, in veterans who came home apparently healthy. The 2024 Brown University study, led by Drs. David Savitz and Amal Trivedi, matched health records for nearly 500,000 veterans and found that longer cumulative exposure was associated with higher rates of asthma, COPD, hypertension, and ischemic stroke.8Brown University School of Public Health. Deployment to Military Bases With Open Burn Pits and Respiratory and Cardiovascular Disease The authors described the results as “some of the first solid evidence of an association between burn pit exposure and long-term health consequences using objective measures.”
Constrictive Bronchiolitis
One of the most distinctive burn pit illnesses is constrictive bronchiolitis, in which the small airways of the lungs scar and narrow. A 2011 study in the New England Journal of Medicine examined 49 soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with unexplained breathing problems. Of 38 who underwent surgical lung biopsies, all had constrictive bronchiolitis, a condition the authors called “very rare” in otherwise healthy young adults.9New England Journal of Medicine. Constrictive Bronchiolitis in Soldiers Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan Biopsy tissue often showed grayish-black particulate deposits consistent with inhaling polluted air, and more than half of the affected soldiers reported struggling to climb a single flight of stairs. Standard lung function tests and chest imaging frequently look normal in these patients, which makes the condition hard to diagnose without a biopsy.10CHEST Journal. Deployment-Related Respiratory Disease
Cancers
The VA recognizes a broad list of cancers as presumptively connected to burn pit exposure, including brain cancer, glioblastoma, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, melanoma, lymphomas, leukemias, and cancers of the head, neck, gastrointestinal system, reproductive organs, and respiratory tract.11U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Presumptive Cancers Related to Burn Pit Exposure In January 2025 the VA added urinary bladder and ureter cancers, acute and chronic leukemias, multiple myeloma, and myelodysplastic syndromes.12National Veterans Legal Services Program. Self-Help Guide for Initial Claim
Mental Health and Other Effects
A November 2025 study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine analyzed nearly 440,000 Army and Air Force veterans and found that cumulative burn pit exposure was associated with higher rates of PTSD, depression, mood disorders, and sleep disturbances.13Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Deployment to Military Bases With Open Burn Pits and Mental Health Conditions and Injury Mortality Veterans with more than 129 days of exposure were 27% more likely to report severe stress symptoms; those with more than 474 days were 68% more likely.14Veterans of Foreign Wars. New Research Links Burn Pit Fumes and Brain Injuries The study also found an association with unintentional injury-related mortality.
The PACT Act and What It Changed
For years, veterans who developed cancers or respiratory disease after serving near burn pits had to prove to the VA that their specific illness was caused by their service. Exposure records were often inadequate, and many claims were denied. The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, signed by President Biden on August 10, 2022, changed that.15The New York Times. Biden Signs Burn Pits Legislation
The law’s central mechanism is “presumptive” service connection. For more than 30 recognized conditions, veterans no longer have to prove that their service caused their illness. If they served in a qualifying location during a qualifying period and have one of the listed diagnoses, the VA presumes the connection.16U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Specific Environmental Hazards The Act also expanded VA health care enrollment and requires free toxic exposure screenings for enrolled veterans.
Who Is Presumed Exposed
For Afghanistan, the presumption of exposure covers anyone who served in the country on or after September 11, 2001. The same presumption applies to service in several other locations under the PACT Act, but Afghanistan service alone is enough.
Presumptive Conditions
Respiratory and related illnesses on the presumptive list include asthma diagnosed after service, COPD, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, constrictive bronchiolitis, pulmonary fibrosis, interstitial lung disease, sarcoidosis, chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, granulomatous disease, and pleuritis. The presumptive cancer list covers brain, gastrointestinal, head, neck, kidney, pancreatic, reproductive, respiratory, and lymphatic cancers, along with melanoma, glioblastoma, and several blood cancers.17U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The PACT Act and Your VA Benefits
How to File a VA Claim
Veterans with a presumptive condition file a disability claim using VA Form 21-526EZ, submitted online at VA.gov, by mail, or in person at a regional office. Because the condition is presumptive, no medical opinion linking the illness to service is required. You need a diagnosis, qualifying service in a covered location, and a discharge other than dishonorable.16U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Specific Environmental Hazards
If your claim was previously denied for a condition now covered under the PACT Act, you can file a Supplemental Claim to have it reconsidered. For conditions not on the presumptive list, you can still file, but you’ll need evidence that the illness is at least as likely as not related to your service. A private medical opinion and a completed Disability Benefits Questionnaire strengthen those claims. Free help is available from accredited attorneys, claims agents, and Veterans Service Organization representatives.12National Veterans Legal Services Program. Self-Help Guide for Initial Claim
Survivors of veterans who died from a covered condition may also be eligible for benefits.
The Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry
The registry is separate from any claim. Congress established it in 2014 to support research into long-term health effects, and as of an August 2024 redesign, enrollment is automatic based on Department of Defense deployment records. It now covers more than 4.7 million veterans and service members who served in qualifying locations between August 1990 and August 2021.18Defense Health Agency. Burn Pit Registry Redesign Auto-Enrolls Participants The registry collects deployment locations, personnel data, and demographics rather than medical records, and participation has no effect on health care eligibility or a disability claim.19U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry Enrolling in the registry is not the same as filing a claim, and filing a claim does not require registry enrollment.
Lawsuits Against the Contractor Are Closed
Thousands of veterans sued KBR, Inc., the military contractor that operated many burn pits, in litigation consolidated as In re: KBR, Inc., Burn Pit Litigation in federal court in Maryland. The district court dismissed the cases under the political question doctrine after finding that the military controlled the use and location of the pits, the Fourth Circuit affirmed in June 2018, and the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal on January 14, 2019.20U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. In Re KBR Inc. Burn Pit Litigation21NPR. Veterans Claiming Illness From Burn Pits Lose Court Fight The courts never ruled on whether the burn pits harmed veterans. For now, the VA claims process under the PACT Act is the path to benefits.