This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

Stony Brook Eyes 'Center of Excellence' Distinction to Help Veterans

The Helping Veterans Exposed to Toxic Chemicals Act aims to study and treat Iraq and Afghanistan vets' illnesses, and Stony Brook could play a major part.

At a Washington, D.C., press conference Thursday, U.S. Rep. Tim Bishop, D-Southampton, announced bipartisan legislation to study the health effects of toxic burn pit exposure and establish three centers to advance the medical science — possibly one at Stony Brook University Hospital.

According to Bishop, thousands of veterans have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with myriad health problem that could be a result of being exposed to toxic fumes from burn pits used to dispose of tires, munitions, medical waste and other materials. The proposed bill, The Helping Veterans Exposed to Toxic Chemicals Act, seeks to ensure they receive medical treatment.

Bishop previously helped pass legislation to curtail the use of burn pits, and now proposes that three centers of excellence be chosen through a competitive process to work on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of health conditions that have arisen from exposure.


"It is important that we create these because, very candidly, neither the Department of Defense nor the Department of Veteran Affairs has yet recognized the long-term health implications of exposure to the toxins associated with these burn pits," Bishop said.

Dr. Anthony Szema, of Stony Brook Medicine, joined Bishop in announcing the bill.

"I'm very excited about this legislation," Dr. Szema said. "I hope we can become one of these centers. And I think this is a great step forward scientifically and medically for our troops."

Suzanne Charleston of Burn Pits 360, who lost her brother in May 2012 to pancreatic cancer, said, "The ones we've lost, we can't do anything about, but we can do things to help the men and women, the service members, that are still here."

Peter Sullivan of the Sergeant Sullivan Center — a veterans non-for-profit in D.C. named for his late son, Sgt. Thomas Joseph Sullivan, who died from health complications following a tour in Iraq — likened today's situation to Gulf War Syndrome.

"We can't go through another episode like we did with the Persian Gulf War where still 250,000 people had illnesses that were never medically explained and to this day there is still not a clear understanding of the cause, much less effective treatment or cure," Sullivan said.

"The burn pit issue has been around for some time, and each time Congress has tried to address it, it certainly has been a difficult task," said Nick McCormick of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "Obviously the burn pit registry was a great victory for veterans and service members the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the bipartisan bill seeks to build upon that and tackle the issue on a much wider and proactive scale."

Co-sponsoring the legislation are Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Co., Rep. Walter Jobes, R-N.C., and Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn.

Bishop said he hopes to broaden the bipartisan coalition then bring the bill to House leadership to advance it.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?