Black goo at K2 in Uzbekistan was toxic

#Middlebury #Veterans

Were you stationed in Uzbekistan shortly after 9/11 until 2005? The place, Karshi-Khanabad, was called K2 and the ground was covered in black goo. Signs warned of radiation hazard, and the area frequently flooded. Pond water glowed green.

Were you there? How’s your health?

Various sources peg the toxic goo as asbestos, uranium and chemicals left over from a former Soviet air base. So far 61 veterans have come down with cancer, and they point to working in that location as the cause. There are documents, from as early as 2001, showing that the military knew the place was toxic.

Many of the veterans with cancer, or the families of the ones who have already died, have had problems getting the Department of Veterans Affairs to cover medical costs, honor claims or to consider illness from serving at K2 as a presumptive. If you were there or are the surviving family of a deceased veteran who served there and died from cancer, there is hope.

Senators on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform sent requests to the VA and Department of Defense demanding documents about hazardous substances. They cited a 2015 Army study that says the Army found that veterans who served in K2 were five times as likely to develop cancer. The VA responded that there was no indication of increased cancer rate among those who served at K2.

VA Secretary Robert Wilkie has stated publicly that veterans at K2 may have been exposed, and they want you to come forward to get help. He specifically said, “File the claims. Come speak to us. This is not your grandfather’s VA where the paperwork is going to last 10 years.”

Take him at his word. It’s not a guarantee of K2 exposure being a called a presumptive, but it’s a start. If you were affected, or are related to anyone who was, make noise.

Meanwhile look online for www.scribd.com/document/440490525/K2-Contamination-Documents.

© 2020 King Features Synd. Inc.