A Massachusetts state legislator is hoping to highlight a potential health risk to recent military veterans.
Service members deployed overseas in the last 30 years may have been exposed to airborne toxins because of the common practice of burning chemicals and waste in open pits.
State Rep. John Velis, a Democrat from Westfield, said these so-called “burn pits” could be to this generation of veterans what Agent Orange was to Vietnam vets.
His bill would require local veterans service officers and other state agencies to promote a registry set up by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to self-report exposure to burn pits.
Velis is a major in the U.S. Army Reserves and was deployed twice to Afghanistan.
WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with Velis.
Velis is a candidate in the March 31st special election to fill the State Senate seat left open by the resignation of Don Humason, who is now the mayor of Westfield.
Velis is the only Democrat running. John Cain, a businessman from Southwick, is the Republican candidate.
