The VA said the goal is to see if kidney cancer should be considered a “presumptive service-connected condition” for veterans exposed to PFAS substances.
If a connection is established, it would be the first time a condition resulting from PFAS explosure was added to the list of illnesses the PACT Act presumes are service-related.
Signed into law in 2022, the PACT Act expanded VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic substances.
The legislation added to the list of health conditions that the government assumes or presumes were caused by exposure to these substances, making it easier for veterans to secure care benefits.
Since 2022, the VA has extended presumptions for more than 300 new conditions, including most recently for male breast cancer, urethral cancer, and cancer of the paraurethral glands.
In June, a spokesman for the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center told the Dayton Daily News that Air Force has spent nearly $59 million to address the presence of PFAS chemicals at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.
A spokeswoman for the VA in Washington, D.C declined to answer questions, saying, “We are just starting this scientific review.”
Representatives the Dayton VA Medical Center declined to comment.
“We want to understand the health conditions that veterans are living with so we can provide them with all of the benefits they deserve — and that’s what this review process is all about,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said in a statement Wednesday.
The VA emphasized that veterans should not wait for the outcome of the review to apply for the benefits.
PFAS are a class of over 12,000 chemicals the military has used since the early 1970s.
The VA has delivered disability compensation benefits to more than one million veterans and their survivors, amounting to more than $7 billion in PACT Act benefits, the department said.
About the Author
