2003 CPEO Military List Archive

From: CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>
Date: 19 Jun 2003 20:24:39 -0000
Reply: cpeo-military
Subject: [CPEO-MEF] Government May Expand Count of Vets Exposed to Nerve Agents in First
 
NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE
Government May Expand Count of Vets Exposed to Nerve Agents in First
Gulf War
BY MARY ORNDORFF
June 18, 2003

WASHINGTON -- Scientific studies of events during the first Gulf War
could cause the government to change its policy and presume that
everyone who served was exposed to some level of nerve agents, the
nation's top veterans official said Tuesday.

"That may be the ultimate outcome," said the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs Anthony J. Principi.

In an interview, Principi said there is conflicting research on how far
contaminated plumes traveled during the postwar clean-up of chemical
weapons in Iraq in 1991, and therefore on how many troops were affected.
If the differences are not reconciled, he said, the department might
have to assume all 700,000 men and women who served were exposed.

That would be a dramatic increase from the most recent Pentagon estimate
of about 100,000, and it would remove a significant hurdle for veterans
in proving their illnesses are related to military service, a
requirement for certain medical benefits.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/orndorff061803.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Prev by Date: [CPEO-MEF] United Kingdom Joins Arctic Environmental Cooperation
Next by Date: [CPEO-MEF] Habitat for 99 Hawaiian Plants Marred by Disclaimer
  Prev by Thread: [CPEO-MEF] United Kingdom Joins Arctic Environmental Cooperation
Next by Thread: [CPEO-MEF] Habitat for 99 Hawaiian Plants Marred by Disclaimer

CPEO Home
CPEO Lists
Author Index
Date Index
Thread Index