Health Concerns Related to the Use of Burn Pits

Although burn pits help base commanders to manage waste, they also  produce smoke and harmful emissions that military and other health  professionals believe may result in acute and chronic health effects for  those exposed. DOD’s Report on the Disposal of Covered Waste in Burn Pits Generally Addressed Mandate Requirements

On the basis of our assessment of DOD’s March 2016 burn pit report, we  found that it generally addressed the requirements in section 313 of the  NDAA for Fiscal Year 2015. Central Command, U.S. Africa Command, U.S. European Command,  U.S. Pacific Command, and U.S. Southern Command—to provide  information on the requirements in section 313, which included providing  information on the policies and procedures related to the disposal of  covered waste in burn pits during contingency operations. Section 313  contains seven specific reporting elements that DOD was required to  address in its report. We determined, based on our assessment, that  DOD’s report fully addressed four of the seven reporting requirements  and partially addressed the remaining three. Table 1 summarizes our  analysis of the extent to which DOD’s report addressed each of the  specific requirements in section 313. For example, we assessed reporting  requirement 3 to be partially addressed because DOD’s report included  guidance used to distinguish categories of waste but did not include  information about whether the categories were appropriately and clearly  distinguished in environmental surveys and assessments. The Office of the Secretary of  Defense tasked lower-level commands, including each of the military  services, the Joint Staff, and the combatant commands, to provide  information for the report. DOD Established Guidance to Meet Applicable Law, but Most Combatant Commands Have Not Issued Policies and Procedures for Implementing DOD Guidance on Burn Pit Use

While DOD issued guidance on burn pit use, as required by law, it is not  clear how the guidance will be implemented in future contingency  operations because the overseas combatant commands, except for  CENTCOM, have not issued related policies and procedures for  implementing this guidance. As previously stated, in response to section  317 of the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2010, in  2011 DOD issued DOD Instruction 4715.19. This instruction defines  covered waste as hazardous waste, medical waste, and other items  including tires, treated wood, batteries, and plastics, among other  things. CENTCOM is the only overseas geographic combatant command that  has established policies and procedures that govern waste management  during contingency operations, including implementing the DOD burn pit  guidance. According to officials from the other  overseas geographic combatant commands, their commands have not  developed similar policies and procedures because they do not utilize  burn pits and there is an absence of current contingency operations in  their respective areas of responsibility. Nonetheless, while most of the overseas  geographic commands may not currently be involved in contingency  operations within their areas of responsibility, waste disposal would likely  be required if such operations arise in the future, and the use of burn pits  would be one option for disposing of waste. However, the instruction does  not specify how combatant commanders will ensure compliance with  requirements in the instruction, including which organizations within the  commands would be responsible for notifications, or how they would  monitor and report on the use of any burn pits. DOD has not Fully Assessed the Health Risks of Burn Pits

The impacts from exposing individuals to burn pit emissions are not well  understood, and DOD has not fully assessed these health risks. However, the officials also stated that DOD  does not have enough data to confirm whether direct exposure to burn  pits causes long-term health issues. Although DOD and the Department  of Veterans Affairs have commissioned studies to enhance their  understanding of airborne hazards, including burn pit emissions, the  current lack of data on emissions specific to burn pits limits DOD’s ability  to fully assess potential health impacts on servicemembers and other  base personnel, such as contractors. For example, in a 2011 study that  was contracted by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Institute of  Medicine stated that it was unable to determine whether long-term health  effects are likely to result from burn pit exposure due to inadequate  evidence of an association. Moreover, although DOD and the Department of  Veterans Affairs have commissioned studies to enhance their  understanding of airborne hazards during deployments, given that DOD  may have to use burn pits in future contingency operations, as allowed  under current policies, ensuring that research efforts specifically examine  the relationship between direct, individual exposure to burn pit emissions  and long-term health issues could help improve the understanding and  potentially minimize risks related to such exposure. In its written comments, DOD concurred  with our first recommendation and partially concurred with our second  and third recommendations.
Why GAO Did This Study

Burn pits help base commanders manage waste generated by U.S. forces overseas, but they also produce harmful emissions that military and other health professionals believe may result in chronic health effects for those exposed. Section 313 of the NDAA for FY 2015 requires the Secretary of Defense to review DOD compliance with law and guidance regarding the disposal of covered waste in burn pits. DOD submitted a report on the results of its review in March 2016.
Section 313 also includes a provision for GAO to assess DOD's report and its compliance with applicable DOD instruction and law. This report evaluates the extent to which (1) DOD's report addressed the elements required in section 313; (2) DOD, including combatant commands, issued guidance for burn pit use that addresses applicable legislative requirements; and (3) DOD has assessed any health risks of burn pit use. GAO compared DOD's report to elements required in section 313, reviewed policies and procedures and interviewed DOD officials.

What GAO Found

In assessing the Department of Defense's (DOD) March 2016 report to Congress on the use of burn pits, GAO found that it generally addressed the requirements in section 313 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015. To complete this report, DOD tasked the military services, the Joint Staff, and the overseas combatant commands to provide information on the requirements in the mandate, including policies and procedures related to the disposal of covered waste (including certain types of hazardous waste, medical waste, and items such as tires, treated wood, and batteries) in burn pits during contingency operations. GAO found that DOD's report fully addressed four of the seven reporting requirements and partially addressed the remaining three. For example, the report addressed who is responsible for ensuring compliance with the legislative requirements, but partially addressed whether the waste categories are appropriately and clearly distinguished in surveys and assessments.
Although DOD established guidance to meet applicable legislative requirements through the issuance of DOD Instruction 4715.19, U.S. Central Command is the only overseas geographic combatant command that has established complementary policies and procedures for implementing this guidance. The instruction applies to all the combatant commands, but it does not specify how combatant commanders will ensure compliance with requirements in the instruction. Officials from the other geographic combatant commands stated that their commands have not developed similar policies and procedures because they do not utilize burn pits and there is an absence of current contingency operations in their respective areas of responsibility. Nonetheless, while most of the overseas geographic commands may not currently be involved in contingency operations within their areas of responsibility, waste disposal would likely be required if such operations arise in the future, and the use of burn pits would be one option for disposing of waste. Establishing policies and procedures would better position these commands to implement DOD's instruction.
The effects of exposing individuals to burn pit emissions are not well understood, and DOD has not fully assessed these health risks. DOD officials stated that there are short-term effects from being exposed to toxins from the burning of waste. However, the officials also stated that DOD does not have enough data to confirm whether direct exposure to burn pits causes long-term health issues. Although DOD and the Department of Veterans Affairs have commissioned studies to enhance their understanding of burn pit emissions, the current lack of data on emissions specific to burn pits and related individual exposures limits efforts to characterize potential long-term health impacts on servicemembers and other base personnel. A 2011 report by the Institute of Medicine outlined the data needed for assessing exposures and potential related health risks, and the Department of Veterans Affairs has established a registry to collect some information. However, DOD has not undertaken data-gathering and research efforts to specifically examine this relationship to fully understand any associated health risks.

What GAO Recommends

GAO made three recommendations to include establishing policies and procedures and ensuring research specifically examines the relationship between direct burn pit exposure and long-term health issues. DOD concurred with the first recommendation and partially concurred with the second, citing research it has or has plans to conduct. GAO agrees this research contributes to general understanding but continues to believe more specific research is needed.