Unexplained Breathing Problems Strike Soldiers Returning From Iraq

news.yahoo.com...

WEDNESDAY, July 20 (HealthDay News) -- Some U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering unexplained breathing problems that may be related to exposure to unknown toxins, a new study indicates.

"Respiratory disorders are emerging as a major consequence of service in southwest Asia," said study author Dr. Matthew S. King, an assistant professor of pulmonary and critical care at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn.

I wonder what these "unknown" toxins are? The first thing that came to my mind was Depleted Uranium. Hasnt there been some major birth defects in Iraq since the invasion to?

Here's a little bit more about the study

For the study, King and colleagues had 80 soldiers with difficulty breathing from Fort Campbell, Ky., undergo physical exams that included tests to determine how well they were breathing and CT scans.

In addition, 49 soldiers had lung biopsies when the exam couldn't find a reason for their breathing problems. Some of these soldiers had been exposed to a sulfur-mine fire in Iraq in 2003, the researchers noted.

How many of those 49 soldiers were exposed to that sulfer-mine? Im not sure

All the biopsies were abnormal, and the researchers diagnosed 38 soldiers with constrictive bronchiolitis. Constrictive bronchiolitis is a rare non-reversible lung disease in which the small airways in the lungs are compressed and narrowed by scar tissue or inflammation.

It turns out some of these same symptoms were seen in the first Gulf War

The theory is this is caused by the inhalation of a toxic substance in people who have not been exposed to it before, Light said. However, he noted that the damage seems to be minor. These same problems were seen during the first Gulf War, he added.

reply to post by buni11687


I have been having an ongoing issue myself, yet the doc's cant figure it out, i get mucus in my lungs, but I'm not sick. its hard to breathe but I'm not asthmatic. has been the exact same for about 6 months now.

Bring the troops home.

When will people wake up and see these wars as nothing for the farces they are?

You're going to suffer health defects. Is that worth a bit of your foolish pride?

These issues can probably be explained quite easily. You see, the middle east is not as industrial as the US, therefore, when soldiers return from a lower pollution area back into an environment with enormous quantities of pollution it is quite expected to see such respiratory issues arising that otherwise may have not come to be. this is probably being discussed as a measure to make the public want to bring more troops home. It could also be a ploy to push other stories down that are actually more important but less interesting.

Originally posted by The Sword
Bring the troops home.

When will people wake up and see these wars as nothing for the farces they are?

You're going to suffer health defects. Is that worth a bit of your foolish pride?

Here's your first example of what I was saying.

Actually Dark- the opposite is true at least environmentally.

Areas of Iraq are horribly polluted to the point of making US Superfund sites look like alpine meadows. I was in Camp Taji on the CMATT side and Saddam had an aeronautical facility there that was loaded with methyl-ethyl bad stuff. I didn't like being in the same province as that facility.

Most MNF-I bases are sited on former Iraqi military bases and all of them were contaminated with all kinds of chemical detritus. In addition there are the sewage pumpers who spread their loads out on roadways where it is dried, pulverized and inhaled as winds blow the superfine fecal matter into the air. There were KBR open burn pits where everything from plastics (water bottles & plastic bags are the dominant life form in Iraq) to old computers and anything else that can be thought of.

There was no EPA or OSHA or any other controls on anything in that regard. Kind of like the old USSR where the government dumped what it wanted, where it wanted and if you complained you got to spend a relaxing weekend with Uday before he beat you to death with a section of rebar.

Baghdad was just as congested with just as many vehicles as any other city and none had ANY smog control systems whatsoever. Factories has no environmental protection equipment at all- no scrubbers, no restrictions on dumping... nothing, Heck I watched electrical linemen drain PCB filled transformers onto the ground before pulling them off poles.

Not making anything personal but you can't apply western standards to third world countries.

As for DU- chemical pollution was the source of many of the alleged deformities attributed to DU by the regime as well as left wing groups in the west. DU causes neurological impairments as well as spontaneous abortion/miscarriage- not horrific birth defects. Chemical contamination does (see Thalidomide et. al).

reply to post by ConspiraCity


Same here- been coughing up that semi-solid brown crap since late 2003. Got in country in June 03 and by November my lungs were shot. Stayed there almost continuously until early 09. As it is I can't run a half mile without sucking wind and coughing up bits of my lungs. Prior to- I used to do a 5 miler every morning in 45-50 minutes.

reply to post by buni11687


As I recall, early on in this current Iraq war, some military personnel were getting sick, some died as well, from some sort of puzzling respiratory problem. I'd have to dig into this using google, I suppose, to find some of the news reports from that time.

reply to post by DarkSarcasm


You do not share the spoils of war, so for you to try and minimize the issue saying obvious bull# like the air is more polluted in a non-war zone where no depleted uranium is scattered across the place, is simply put, a disturbing display of Stockholm syndrome.

Originally posted by Zamini
reply to post by DarkSarcasm

 

You do not share the spoils of war, so for you to try and minimize the issue saying obvious bull# like the air is more polluted in a non-war zone where no depleted uranium is scattered across the place, is simply put, a disturbing display of Stockholm syndrome.

DU = Red herring

Don't buy into the hype.

I can't say anything about Afghanistan, but I can say for certain that Iraq is the most polluted place I've ever been. They let waste from refineries wash into rivers. They burn off chemical waste.

There will be times that you'll see oil clouds just roll in and you'll have to mask up before it gets to you. I was a marathon runner and a pretty physically fit guy. After six months there I developed a hacking cough that would fill my mouth with crud.

I really doubt there's anything insidious going on with that. You're in a country with no environmental regulations, coupled with what normally goes on in a war zone. You're going to see some health effects. I shudder to think of the damage that the moon dust over there did to my lungs. You vets will know what I'm talking about.

The Burn Pits.

All the waste, including entire TRUCKS were thrown into pits and burned. All those toxins put into the air caused alot of problems for the troops.


We used Depleted Uranium rounds on Iraq. For example inside Iraqi aircraft hangers we shot up....were Russian MIG's with depleted uranium on the airframes along with depleted uranium in the air to air munitions that were on those Mig's wings. All that depleted uranium burning up is FALLOUT.

Plus who knows what other toxins were on that military hardware...some stuff like advanced carbon composites may have been on those russian migs....breathing that stuff after it has burnt is WORSE than breathing asbestos.

Plus there were all the chemical weapons bunkers we blew to crap...that stuff is still likely leaching out of the ground after it was bulldozed over. Our Govt. would never admit to it being there because of the LIABILITY to all the poisoned Veterans.

Theres so many people that hate us I wouldn't be surprised if many of the goods/food/water wasn't poisoned. Our most advanced directed energy weapons are likely being tested over Iraq....wouldn't be surprised if some of the ailments are because we're cooking our own troops with microwaves or other directed energy we're beaming down.

Humans are an evil race of life that even love maiming and killing their own....imagine if the F-22 was over Iraq and some young whipper snapper went crazy with it's tactical laser and just pointed and clicked on large numbers of our own troops just because he can...zapping them with directed energy from the laser....weeeeee it's fun! He wouldn't realize what the heck he did until his late 30's.

I wouldn't be surprised either if it was found the Anthrax Vaccine was causing problems. The head of the FDA was slamming BioPort for illegally making the Anthrax Vaccine in a non-approved way...thus not licensed and considered "experimental"....they hammered them for a dirty lab....caught them mixing RECALLED batches of the vaccine with current versions that were shipped out....then ole Bush Jr fired the head of the FDA and Bioport's problems alllll went away....and many many other Anthrax Vaccine companies popped up.

We're REALLY REALLY good at killing our own.

reply to post by 43mike


Oh hell that dust sucked ass!

First time I ever dropped a stone and saw dirt "splash".

I'm still coughing crap up two years after I got out of that AO. Granted I was there 6 years straight but you could collect what I've hacked up and make a damn T wall out of it

Never thought about the carbon fibers used in aircraft like the previous poster mentioned either. That rocketry section on Taji was riddled the the stuff.

I read something about this in a paper earlier today. My suspicions say "diesel lung"... There's "coal miner's lung" so why not "diesel lung"? Diesels produce very fine soot particulates that are bad to breathe, and hydrocarbons and additive chemicals from unburnt fuel are known carcinogens.

What do all military ground vehicles run on? JP-5, JP-6, or some form of diesel. Do they have emissions controls? (Likely answer is no.) What are troops standing around all day during movements and activities? There's likely a diesel engine or gas turbine running somewhere nearby. If the engine isn't in a vehicle, there's still likely one in a generator that's kept running for A/C and supporting camp operations. Now imagine being close enough to smell the exhaust from those engines 24/7.

I'd also suspect you'd see the same kind of illness in civilian populations living or working near where heavy truck traffic is or where there's a lot of heavy machinery operation.

If I had to do a survey study of these soldiers, I'd make a questionnaire that asks how many hours are spent in in close proximity to running or idling engines. Whether or not they handle fueling or stationing of vehicles. How often do they use vehicles for cover, things like that. The answers might be interesting, since not all soldiers seem to have this pulmonary illness.