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Veterans get toxic exposure screenings at Vet Fest
Regina Gonzalez reports
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Hundreds of Bay-Area veterans filled the first level of Tropicana Field for Vet Fest on Saturday.
The event was held to educate veterans about local services and help them apply for benefits through the 'PACT' Act, which ensures vets from World War II through the War on Terror will receive previously denied healthcare and compensation for toxic exposures.
Decades after Andrew Peterson served in the United States Marine Corps, he continues to deal with the health impacts of being exposed to drinking water contaminated with industrial chemicals while working at Camp Lejeune in the 1980s.
"I had esophageal cancer. I'm cancer-free right now," Peterson said. "I had surgery, and I had some peripheral ailments from my surgery, so I'm here for that right now."
Signed a year ago by President Joe Biden, the "PACT" Act allows a veteran or spouse to get health coverage and compensation based on how severely they were exposed to dangerous substances.
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"The legislation expanded benefits for toxic exposures, which actually made the conditions presumptive," explained David Isaacks, Network Director for VA Sunshine Healthcare network. "So, the veteran would just have to determine that they were in a certain geographic area or exposed to file a disability claim for some type of condition that they had due to those toxins."
Dozens lined up to undergo toxic exposure screenings to determine that information.
From Vietnam veterans who inhaled Agent Orange to War on Terror veterans who inhaled fumes from burn pits to less specific incidents like inhaling sulfur, radiation and sand, they're all eligible.
"There's a lot of conditions, especially cancers of the throat, the face and the lungs that are the result toxic exposures where vets don't even know its being caused by that," Isaacks added. "So that's the conditions we want to screen for to get them the benefits they already earned."
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Survivors of a veteran can claim benefits from the "PACT" Act, provided they were in a place where exposure is presumed to have happened.
The deadline to qualify for retroactive benefits through the "PACT" Act is Wednesday, Aug. 9.
After that, veterans can still apply, but you won't get anything for the previous year, even if the exposures came long ago.