Operation Desert Storm

Questions Remain on Possible Exposure to Reproductive Toxicants Gao ID: PEMD-94-30 August 5, 1994

Soldiers who served in the Persian Gulf War have complained of health problems they believe result from exposure to hazardous substances. These substances include diesel fuel used as dust suppressant at encampments, smoke from the burning of human and other waste with fuel oil, shower water contaminated with fuel, drugs and vaccines used to protect against chemical and biological weapons, pesticides and insect repellents, and the smoke from oil-well fires. Some veterans believe that their exposure has harmed not only their health but has lead to reproductive problems, such as birth defects, infertility, and miscarriage. The military's studies so far of reproductive dysfunctions among returning troops have been incomplete and poorly designed. As a result, questions remain about the extent of exposure and range of reproductive problems among U.S. military personnel. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Operation Desert Storm: Potential for Reproductive Dysfunction Is Not Being Adequately Monitored, by Kwai-Cheung Chan, Director of Program Evaluation in Physical System Areas, before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. GAO/T-PEMD-94-31, Aug. 5, 1994 (10 pages).

GAO found that: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD) performed many general assessments on potential health hazards in the Persian Gulf and also relied on assessments performed by other entities; (2) except for the occupational health hazard assessment, no other DOD assessment specifically addressed potential reproductive toxicants in the Persian Gulf; (3) the DOD health hazard assessment process identifies potential reproductive toxicants that are internal to a weapon system's development process; (4) DOD did not identify several toxicants that were unrelated to its assessment criteria, including toxicants from oil fires, pesticides, and decontaminating agents used in the war; (5) DOD made no effort to educate military personnel on how to avoid reproductive toxicants; (6) some activities covered by other directives would likely have minimized exposure to potential reproductive hazards; (7) although some activities have been undertaken to monitor servicemen and servicewomen for adverse reproductive effects after their deployment to the gulf, these efforts have major shortcomings; and (8) the Persian Gulf war cannot be ruled out as a cause of reproductive and developmental dysfunction among the veteran community.

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