Letter to the Hon. Mark Esper, Secretary of Defense - Klobuchar, Sullivan Press Department of Defense to Prioritize Elimination of Open Air Burn Pits

Letter

Dear Secretary Esper:

We write regarding the April 2019 Open Burn Pit Report to Congress and to raise concern that the Department of Defense (DoD) is not prioritizing the development of technology that would eventually eliminate the need to operate open air burn pits.

The report outlines multiple factors that DoD uses when determining whether to continue the use of open burn pits, including the short-term nature of locations, infrastructure gaps, and limited disposal capabilities in contested environments. After considering these factors, the Department has determined that in limited circumstances some exceptions have been required. We commend the fact that there are significantly fewer burn pits in operation than there were several years ago. However, we are concerned that the Department is not dedicating sufficient resources to the development of alternatives to a practice that has potentially exposed hundreds of thousands of servicemembers and DoD civilians to toxic chemicals.

In the section discussing opportunities to phase out open air burn pits, the report states that "the Department's strategic investments are focused on providing a more lethal force, vice investment in costly support systems." Providing the necessary resources to meet the required scalability, transportability, reliability, and fuel economy necessary to eventually eliminate the need for operating any open air burn pits -- even in remote locations -- will enhance the force's readiness by mitigating respiratory problems that currently limit our operations. We acknowledge the technical difficulty in finding alternatives that work in contingency environments, but we believe that consistent, significant research and development support for finding burn pit alternatives would ensure that our servicemembers would never again be exposed to potentially hazardous smoke.

We would appreciate you providing additional information on the Department's efforts regarding the research and development of alternative technologies to open air burn pits, particularly efforts to partner with the private sector in furthering these technologies. Additionally, we respectfully request that you continue to regularly update Congress regarding efforts to phase out the use of open air burn pits.

Thank you for your attention to this critical issue impacting the health of our servicemen and women.

Sincerely,

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