The PACT Act: An essential first step in protecting those who protect us

Burn pits are large areas where military waste is incinerated in the open air. Chemicals, weapons and ammunition, metals, medical and human waste, plastics and rubber are all burned, often with jet fuel as an accelerant, resulting in toxic pollution. A 2020 survey by the advocacy organization Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America found that 86 percent of respondents were exposed to these burn pits or other toxins during their service.