Aviator Cancer Bill Would Push VA to Study Toxins Air Crews Faced, Assess Links to Cancers
Ground crew and flight crew cancers would be reviewed. So would the fuels, chemicals, and emissions they were exposed to.
TARA COPP | APRIL 15, 2022
Just like the fighter pilots they supported, many troops who fueled, armed, and maintained warplanes have suffered from cancer or seen their former colleagues diagnosed with the disease. There’s no data yet on how many ground crew members have gotten sick, but a new bill introduced Thursday would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to identify the cancer incidence in the entire aviation community, as well as what toxins they faced, and whether there could be a link to their illnesses.
The ‘‘Aviator Cancer Examination Study Act’’ would require the VA to not only determine the cancer incidence rates for air and ground crews, but also identify the “chemicals, compounds, agents, or other phenomena” they were exposed to. Additionally, it would require the VA to conduct a concurrent study to determine whether there is “a scientifically established causal link between such a chemical, compound, agent, or other phenomena and such cancer incidence or mortality risk.”
The bill differs from another major piece of legislation passed in the 2021 defense authorization act that also includes ground crews, in that toxin identification is required regardless of whether an overall elevated cancer incidence is found. It’s a difference that bill sponsor Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, hopes could help sick aviators get their care covered more quickly by the VA.
https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2022/04/aviator-cancer-bill-would-push-va-study-toxins-air-crews-faced-assess-links-cancers/365740/
