Veterans have 9/11-linked diseases, advocacy groups say

[nitpicker]

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/veterans/2015/12/11/veterans-have-911-linked-diseases-advocacy-groups-say/77087576/

Veterans have 9/11-linked diseases, advocacy groups say

By Patricia Kime, Staff writer 3:43 p.m. EST December 11, 2015

A veterans advocacy group is calling for the Veterans Affairs Department to grant a presumption of service connection for 13 illnesses recognized in victims and first responders of the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks.

Burn Pits 360, a group that represents former service members who developed chronic illnesses after serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, argues that chemicals released during the 9/11 terrorist assault in New York City are the same as those encountered by troops exposed to open-air burn pits and other environmental toxins in the Middle East.

The group argues that the Defense Department and VA should provide the same specialized health care and compensation to sick combat troops as the World Trade Center Health Program and Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund do for 9/11 veterans.
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More than 45,000 veterans have joined the VA Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, a VA-sponsored, voluntary inventory of veterans who want to be counted as having been exposed to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.
(snip)

Illnesses deemed presumptive for World Trade Center first responders include: interstitial lung diseases, chronic respiratory disorders, asthma, reactive airways dysfunction syndrome, WTC-exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic cough syndrome, upper airway hyper reactivity, chronic rhino sinusitis, chronic nasal pharyngitis, chronic laryngitis, castro esophageal reflux disorder, and sleep apnea exacerbated by or related to one of these conditions.
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[MisterP]

1. 1975: "You're CRAZY! In fact, if you say Agent Orange has done anything you can go join

the crystal-suckers and Holocaust deniers!"
1984: "Oops, our bad!"
1991: "You're CRAZY! In fact, if you say Gulf War Syndrome's real you can go join the crystal-suckers and Holocaust deniers!"
2008: "Oops, our bad!"