[CPEO-MEF] Government May Expand Count of Vets Exposed to Nerve Agents in First

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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

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