Notice of Plans for Department of Veterans Affairs to Assess Exposures and Conditions of Interest for Veterans Who Served At Karshi-Khanabad Air Base and To Solicit Public Comment

Resumo

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announces that it plans to conduct an assessment of scientific literature and historical claims data to determine whether there is an association between military environmental exposure to toxic substances related to military service at Camp Stronghold Freedom in Karshi-Khanabad (K2) in Uzbekistan from 2001 to 2005 and medical conditions. VA entered into an agreement with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and published a Report to Congress in 2022 that identified the known health consequences associated with the identified toxic substances, chemicals, and airborne hazards at K2. As part of a continuing effort to assess the health risks that may be associated with military service at K2, VA is soliciting public comment on environmental exposures at K2 and medical conditions developed by Veterans who served there. This notice provides an opportunity for Veterans, caregivers, survivors, and the public to share relevant information with VA to inform decisions regarding presumptive benefits that could impact the roughly 16,000 Veterans who served at K2.