For direct online access to VA benefits and resources, create an account here.

If you’re a military veteran who — while deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan — were exposed to certain environmental hazards, you may have developed illnesses and other medical conditions caused by these toxins (in the air, water and soil).

If so, you may be eligible to receive disability compensation (like monthly payments), health care, or other benefits.

Here are some of the specific hazards known to cause medical issues in Post-9/11 vets:

– Pollutants from a waste incinerator near the Naval Air Facility in Atsugi, Japan

– Hexavalent chromium exposure at the Qarmat Ali Water Treatment Plant in Basra, Iraq

– Particulate matter and large burn pits in Iraq, Afghanistan and Djibouti (near the Horn of Africa)

– Large sulfur fire at Mishraq State Sulfur Mine near Mosul, Iraq

 

If these instances or other unlisted exposures have negatively affected your or a loved one’s health, apply for disability benefits here.

Once the application process is done, you can check on the status of the disability claim here.

 

For more information on this topic, as well as topics like it, click here.