AGENT ORANGE ZONE>>>It's time to make S.1602 happen Toxic Exposure Research and Military Family Support Act of 2013

  

 

SOURCE>>>AGENT ORANGE ZONE

It's time to make S.1602 happen

Toxic Exposure Research and Military Family Support Act of 2013

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Introduced in Senate (10/29/2013)

Toxic Exposure Research and Military Family Support Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) select a medical center in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to serve as the national center for the diagnosis, treatment, and

research of health conditions of descendents (i.e., a biological child, grandchild, or great-grandchild) of individuals exposed to toxic substances while serving as members of the Armed Forces that are related to that exposure; (2) establish an advisory board to advise the center to determine which health conditions result from exposure to toxic substances and to study and evaluate cases of exposure of current and former members of the Armed Forces to toxic substances; and (3) establish an Office of Extramural Research to conduct research on wounds, illnesses, injuries, and other conditions suffered by active members of

the Armed Forces resulting from exposure to toxic substances and to assist the Advisory Board in considering claims of exposure to toxic substances.

Extends eligibility for medical care and caregiver assistance to descendents of a veteran who was exposed to toxic substances while serving as a member of the Armed Forces if: (1) the descendent has a health condition resulting from exposure to toxic substances and is homebound due to such condition, and (2) the veteran has or had the same health condition.

Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to declassify documents (other than documents that would materially and immediately threaten national security) related to any known incident in which not less than 100 member of the Armed Forces were exposed to a toxic substance that resulted in at least one case of disability.

Directs the VA Secretary, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the DOD Secretary to jointly conduct a national outreach and education campaign directed at members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their family members to communicate information on incidents of exposure to toxic substances, health conditions resulting form such exposure, and the potential long-term effects of such exposure.

 Support S.1602, the Toxic Exposure Research and Military Family Support Act of 2013

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Veterans Dying Waiting On Disability Benefits

Veterans are dying and leaving their spouses or even children to continue their fight.

"I wanted to take the pain. Just a little of it. I just wanted to releave him a little bit but there was no way"” said Mrs. Lundy. Back then doctors had a hard time diagnosing Judge Lundy’s illness. His military discharge files said he had a heart condition.

Lundy filed his first claim with the Veterans Administration asking for disability benefits in 1979. It was denied.

Captain Nick Lundy had more than 40 surgeries, including a liver transplant.

Sadly, he passed away in 1991. During that whole time he appealed his benefits case; claiming his injuries were a direct result of Agent Orange exposure.

The common myth that a veteran’s benefits claim dies with them isn’t true, according to Attig.

VA Appeals Backlog Info

LIfe Cycle of VA Appeal by Agent Orange Legacy

Continue Learning:  http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2013/11/22/veterans-dying-waiting-on-disability-benefits/

Agent Orange/Dioxin News from Agent Orange Zone

 

Lawsuit delays trigger gathering at Houston courthouse

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Lawsuit-delays-trigger-gathering-at-Houston-4995736.php?cmpid=htx

More than 60 fishermen and others in the seafood business gathered Wednesday morning in downtown Houston to say they're worried about delays in a government lawsuit against four companies involved in alleged pollution of the San Jacinto River.

The predominantly Vietnamese gathering at the Harris County Civil Courthouse highlighted a case filed in December 2011 by Harris County and the State of Texas against International Paper Co., McGinnes Industrial Maintenance Corp., Waste Management Inc. and Waste Management of Texas Inc.

"We found out about the dioxin in the San Jacinto River just within the past year," said Henry Nguyen, a Houston businessman who helped organize the group's trip to the courthouse.

"A lot of people in different businesses - grocery stores, seafood restaurants, retailers want to know about dioxin," he said. "They're very worried because their families, their children eat fish. That's one of the main foods for daily life."
After speaking briefly to reporters outside the courthouse at 201 Caroline St., the group filed inside to attend a hearing in the 295th State District Court before Judge Caroline Baker.

READ MORE: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Lawsuit-delays-trigger-gathering-at-Houston-4995736.php?cmpid=htx

 

Toxic education - Environmental group shines light on Oroville

http://www.newsreview.com/chico/toxic-education/content?oid=12088361

The Butte Environmental Council has launched an educational campaign in Oroville to help alert citizens to the dioxin contamination that has plagued the southern part of town for decades. Billboards demanding action and a series of public forums have been funded by grants from Ventura-based outdoor-clothing company Patagonia Inc. and the Clif Bar Family Foundation.

Mark Stemen, president of BEC’s board of directors, said Clif Bar and Patagonia both have campaigns aimed at helping low-income communities deal with the toxic problems they may face.

“They were very inspired by the issues and the work we’ve been doing in south Oroville,” Stemen said.

Dioxins have been linked to human reproductive and developmental problems, damaged immune systems and cancer. In 2007, a report by the California Department of Public Health on cancer data found 23 cases of pancreatic cancer in Oroville in 2004 and 2005, which was twice the expected number. No official cause was ever cited, however.

READ MORE: http://www.newsreview.com/chico/toxic-education/content?oid=12088361



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War Veterans Fighting For Lung Disability Compensation After Toxic Exposures

However, some veterans say otherwise. Staff Sgt. Moses Scarberry, a 30-year-old military policeman with the West Virginia Army National Guard, says that although the U.S. Veterans Administration will provide some disability compensation following sub-par lung test results, he cannot prove the level of deterioration to his lungs without a baseline evaluation. In making his case for greater compensation, he lacks a "before-and-after" comparison.

Outside the of the military, fire departments and other employers require baseline lung testing for occupations known to carry a risk to pulmonary functioning. But military service also carries a risk to lung health, according to Fox News and investigative journalist Katie Drummond, whose “Ring of Fire” report describes toxic exposures endured by some troops who have served overseas.

Continue Learning:  http://www.medicaldaily.com/war-veterans-fighting-lung-disability-compensation-after-toxic-exposures-262516