VA launches expanded burn pit registry with automatic inclusion for many vets

Aug. 1 (UPI) -- The Department of Veterans Affairs on Thursday launched an anxiously awaited redesign and expansion of its Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, established 10 years ago to document possible exposure to toxic substances.

Biden administration officials said the move represents an "important milestone" in the federal government's efforts to refine the database, which was set up to understand, research and ultimately improve treatment for the health challenges facing veterans exposed to airborne hazards and burn pits during their military service.

Since 1990, some 3.5 million veterans have served in areas that potentially exposed them to airborne hazards and open burn pit toxins, which have been associated with health problems.

Under the biggest change made following years of "extensive feedback" from veterans, the burn pit registry has "massively expanded" its participation criteria and will now automatically include participants from U.S. military operations and campaigns over the last 34 years, including Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and New Dawn.

The data to be automatically entered in the registry includes deployment locations, military personnel information, and demographics to include gender, race, and ethnicity.

No medical information will be stored in the registry, and veterans have the right to opt out of the process, VA officials said Thursday.

"While the registry does not impact an individual veteran's health care or benefits, it does serve as a catalyst for advancing new and innovative treatments for the Veteran population as a whole -- including informing decisions related to presumptive conditions, more precise predictive medicine, and proactive veteran care," U.S. Undersecretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal said in a statement .

"This redesign massively expands the registry and reduces the participation requirements for veterans, paving the way for critical research in the coming years."

The move to expand and redesign the registry comes after several critical reports on its design and efficiency were released in the recent years.

In July 2022, the VA Office of Inspector General found many veterans did not complete a required 140-item questionnaire, "which is not clear and veteran-centric," and that veterans also did not always realize they were responsible for scheduling their own exams.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concluded in a congressionally mandated October 2022 report the registry should be scrapped in its current form be relaunched in a "new phase" that is more "user-friendly, efficient, and effective."

In June, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers including Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., sought to put pressure on the VA to speed up the revamp, introducing a bill directing it report to on the status and timeline of when the redesigned Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry 2.0 would be completed.