General Information - During Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn, Service members who demolished or handled older explosive ordnance may have been exposed to chemical warfare agents.
- The Department of Defense (DoD) wants to:
- Identify those individuals who had symptoms after exposure to chemical warfare agents in Iraq after 2003.
- Evaluate your symptoms and know your current status.
- Make sure your medical records are documented, the Veterans Benefit Administration and Veterans Health Administration are informed, and you understand your future health risks.
- Provide you with information regarding your exposure that you can share with your current health care provider, and recommend follow-up if it is appropriate.
- DoD has identified some individuals and they are also screening unit medical records and reviewing Post Deployment Health Assessment and Reassessment forms to identify other exposed individuals. Because these methods have limitations, you can use the DoD Hotline (800-497-6261) to notify them of your exposure.
- The chemical warfare agents in the ordnance identified so far were blister agents (mustard agent) or nerve agents (sarin).
- Exposure to either agent was uncommon, but exposure to sarin was even less common than exposure to mustard.
- The likelihood of long-term effects from a single exposure is related to the severity of the exposure. The severity of exposure is estimated from the signs and symptoms at the time of exposure and how long it took for them to develop.
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FOR SERVICE MEMBERS and VETERANS An
Al Hindiyah Fact Sheet is posted for former members of TF 2/502 Infantry Regiment (101ST Airborne Division) who were at Al Hindiyah, Iraq on 6 April 2003.
If you were present at Al Hindiyah during this incident and had symptoms of nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headache, and/or rash following the exposure, please call the DoD hotline (1-800-497-6261) to enroll in the Iraq Chemical Warfare Agent Exposure project.
This program is designed to identify and evaluate OIF/OND veterans who may have had a symptomatic exposure to a chemical warfare agent during deployment.
Department of Defense Hotline:
800-497-6261
If you think you were exposed to chemical warfare agents during your deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation New Dawn (2003-2011), call the hotline.
VA Airborne Hazards and Burn Pit Registry
If you are also concerned about exposure to burn pits or other airborne hazards during your deployment, see if you're eligible to be included in the registry.
Gulf War Registry Health Exam for Veterans
The VA Gulf War Registry Health Exam alerts Veterans to long-term health problems that may be related to environmental exposures during their military service. You can register for this health exam and with the VA Airborne Hazards and Burn Pit Registry as well.
Call the VA at 877-222-8387.
VA War-Related Illness and Injury Study Center
Veterans with complex deployment-related exposures may be referred to this research and health care center. The Center provides expertise to both Veterans and their health care providers.
VA Environmental Exposures Programs and Services
The
VA Environmental Exposures Programs
and Services
brochure has information on resources for Service members with deployment exposures
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