As Dr. Craig Postlewaite, deputy director of Force Readiness and Health Assurance (DoD HA/FHP&R), stepped off the plane and onto Iraqi soil for the first time, he took a moment to absorb the weather conditions and the very visible security measures.

"It was very dusty, windy and hot, easily 110 degrees, and I understand that it gets much hotter still in the peak of summer," Dr. Postlewaite said. In fact, persistent dust storms grounded helicopters, prohibiting trips to some of the planned destinations, including Fallujah, Camp Falcon, and Iskandariyah.

Far more notable than the climate, though, was the deep commitment shown by the Service members and civilian contractors focused on supporting the mission. "They were highly-dedicated, hardworking, and very professional under austere circumstances," he said.

Dr. Postlewaite recently accompanied the DoD General Counsel for Environment and Installations, Mr. Roy Wuchitech, and his military assistant, CDR Johnny Nielsen, to Iraq to check on environmental management issues and force health protection impacts at American installations there.

Events leading up to Postlewaite's trip were set into motion almost a year earlier in July 2007 when senior DoD officials were briefed by the Multinational Force Corps of Iraq (MNFC-I) Environmental Engineers. At issue was smoke generated from solid waste burn pits, which exist at nearly every camp, and the handling, transport, storage, and destruction of regulated medical waste and hazardous materials.

According to Dr. Postlewaite, post-deployment health assessments completed by all returning Service members indicated that nearly 60 percent of the personnel have identified the inhalation of smoke from burn pits as a concern. While exposure to burn pit smoke may cause temporary coughing and redness or stinging of the eyes, extensive environmental monitoring indicates that smoke exposures not interfering with breathing or requiring medical treatment at the time of exposure usually do not cause any lasting health effects or medical follow-up

Ms. Ellen Embrey, DASD FHP&R, Dr. Postlewaite's boss, was one of the senior DoD leaders who took notice and called for action to put more equipment and resources in-theater to keep pace with growing environmental management needs and to better protect the health and comfort of Service members.

Ms. Embrey noted, "Managing any kind of solid waste, particularly medical waste and hazardous chemicals, within the restrictions of the in-theater tactical environment presents its own unusual challenges and unique hazards."

While open pit burning is generally one of the easiest methods of solid waste disposal during contingency operations, the resulting smoke can cause discomfort and create quality of life issues to those in proximity to the burn pits. In some cases, depending on the materials that are being burned, Service members' health issues could also arise. Burn pits are usually used only when incinerators or appropriate disposal sites and methods, such as trash hauling to municipal land fills, are not available. Medical and hazardous wastes also must be handled, transported, stored, and disposed of in very specific ways to ensure the protection of the environment and of Service members from disease transmission and exposure to toxic chemicals.

"With the gradual reduction in hostilities, the leadership has had the opportunity to take a step back and look at how to better protect the health of the force by implementing improved waste disposal methods," Postlewaite said. "Much progress has been made during the past year."

While they'd been monitoring the progress from afar, Mr. Wuchitech, CDR Nielsen, and Dr. Postlewaite went to see conditions on the ground for themselves. Once in Iraq, they received an enthusiastic welcome from General David Patraeus, MNF-I/MNC-I Commanding General, who delivered a detailed theater security orientation briefing to them, emphasizing his commitment to environmental management and force health protection measures.

"General Patraeus clearly understood the importance of our visit and gave unqualified support for further improvement of the environmental program and further enhancing force health protection requirements," Dr. Postlewaite said. "He indicated that our trip came at the right time."

"We all came away very confident that environmental management improvements would continue to be implemented on an ever-widening scale. A number of incinerators have been installed and are now operational at Balad Air Base and the Camp Victory Complex, though all the bases have yet to be served," Dr. Postlewaite said.

Balad Air Base stood out as an example. Three solid waste incinerators have been installed already with another in the planning stages. Air curtains, or blowers, are also being used at some locations to burn pit fires hotter, more efficiently and with less smoke.

Altogether, seven solid waste incinerators are now online in-theater; 12 more are in place and will be operational in the coming months; nine are under construction; and 13 are in the planning stages.

Progress also is being made with the handling and disposal of regulated medical waste generated in our medical facilities. Eleven specialized incinerators are now operational with 12 more on the drawing board. Locations without incinerators are transporting medical waste to locations with appropriate disposal facilities.

"Small steps such as segregating sharps like needles to reduce the amount of medical waste ash that is buried in drums can improve the situation even further," Dr. Postlewaite said.

The team observed that hazardous materials captured from insurgents or generated by US Forces were being stored safely until hazardous waste incinerators planned for two locations and other appropriate chemical destruction methods are in place.

Also obvious were the many strides in establishing environmental practices similar to those found state-side. These include various pollution prevention measures; construction of wastewater and sewage treatment plants; recycling of wood, plastics, and metals; de-militarization and defense material surplus marketing programs; and production of more than 13 million cases of safe, pristine drinking water at the Oasis bottled-water facility at Camp Liberty during the past 13 months.

Dr. Postlewaite is optimistic about maintaining forward momentum.

"As the military operation in Iraq moves to a shrink-and-share model with fewer bases, greater emphasis on infrastructure at the remaining bases will help continue improvement in environmental stewardship, waste management and the resulting health protection of our forces," he said. "The key here is that the theater leadership is on the right path."

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Additional resources:

The Deployment Health and Family Readiness Library is an online resource that provides an easy way to quickly find accurate and up¿to¿date deployment health and family readiness information. The Library provides fact sheets, guides, and other useful information all located on a single Web site for your use.

Below are links to two fact sheets in the Library that relate to smoke from solid waste burn pits:

Open Pit Burning: http://deploymenthealthlibrary.fhp.osd.mil/products/Open%20Pit%20Burning%20(55).pdf

Burning Trash and Human Waste: http://deploymenthealthlibrary.fhp.osd.mil/products/Burning%20Trash%20and%20Human%20Waste%20%20(313).pdf