Open burn pits are usually areas of land that are used to burn up solid waste that has been disposed of.

A few weeks ago, I was reading about the life-long deadly diseases that were contracted by United States service members who were exposed living next to these burning pits while serving on missions overseas.

What I read is simply incredible!

 

U.S. Army soldiers watch garbage burn in a burn-pit at Forward Operating Base Azzizulah in Maiwand District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, February 4, 2013. REUTERS/Andrew Burton (AFGHANISTAN – Tags: MILITARY)

 

First of all, this is something I did not even know about.

I had always wondered where all that waste from all those soldiers, excreted out in faeces and urine ended up, though!

And then, what sealed it all for me, were the numerous claims of veterans that suffer the effects of exposure to these pits, being turned down by the United States government!

 

Photo credit: Amazon.com

 

These pits have existed for a long time….at least long before people that were affected from them started showing up.

They are intended to be a short-term method of waste disposal…

But as the years went by, they became somewhat permanent in war zones like Iraq, Afghanistan and Djibouti!

 

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN – MARCH 22: A soldier in the Afghan National Army (ANA) walks past a burn pit at a command outpost recently handed over to the ANA from the United States Army on March 22, 2013 in Kandahar Province, Zhari District, Afghanistan. The United States military and its allies are in the midst of training and transitioning power to the Afghan National Security Forces in order to withdraw from the country by 2014. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images).

 

Some of these pits stretch(ed) the size of 10 acres!

They burn(ed) 24 hours a day non-stop 7 days a week, with the help of jet fuel that was poured onto this waste to burn.

The waste include(s) Styrofoam containers from the dining hall, batteries, metals, plastics, paints, petroleum products, medical waste, amputated limbs, sewage, discarded food, ammunition among other.

 

Photo credit: Medium

 

I bet you have noticed, in the paragraph above that I have a few words bearing letters in brackets, right?

That implies that over 47 of these burn pits still being currently used by the Army…including 38 of those being operated in the United States…of course, in regions that are considered to be rural and low-income!

According to Grist,

 

(LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, Balad, Iraq) – Smoke billows in from all sides as Sgt. Richard Ganske, 84th Combat Engineer Battalion, pushes the bulldozer deep into the flames of the burn pit to keep burnable items constantly ablaze, disposing of them so they do not clutter up the post. Bulldozers and excavators are the heavy equipment used by the 84th EN Bn to manage trash at the burn pit.
— IPTC Data ——————
Position: 28th Public Affairs Detachment.

 

“At these sites, the military collects excess, obsolete, or unserviceable munitions, including bullets, missiles, mines, and the bulk explosive and flammable materials used to manufacture them, and destroys them by adding diesel and lighting them on fire, or by blowing them up. Last fiscal year (2021), the Department of Defense destroyed 32.7 million pounds of explosive hazardous waste on U.S. soil using these methods, known as open burning and open detonation”.

 

Photo credit: Grist

 

Keep in mind that wherever these pits are opened up and used,

There are natives that have already been living in that same area and are now going to be exposed to these same toxins!

I wonder who ever checks up on those ones!

 

Photo credit: Kansas Reflector

 

So, before you support and cheer on anything military,

Ask yourself, in your heart of hearts about how waste is going to be disposed off in the open burn pits, by these soldiers heading to war.

I bet you will see if it is truly worth it or nuh!

 

Photo credit: The New York Times