General Question

Halliburton_Shill's avatar

What gets burned in burn pits and how do they operate?

Asked by Halliburton_Shill (268points) March 28th, 2009

Looking for more of the technical aspects of use, operation, and safety measures. U.S. troops have been getting cancer and other illnesses from working in and around Iraq burn pits

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7 Answers

StellarAirman's avatar

The Iraqis or third-country nationals driving the garbage trucks drive in there and dump the trash, then the Army guy watching the burn pit eventually goes over and sets it on fire. That’s about it. They take trash directly out of the dumpsters and dump it in there, then burn it. The only safety measures I’ve seen are Do Not Enter signs and “Honk to let the attendant know you’re here”.

Halliburton_Shill's avatar

@StellarAirman – So they’re not inspecting what gets dumped in the pits in any way?

StellarAirman's avatar

Some of it may but I’ve followed a garbage truck straight from the dumpsters to the burn pit plenty of times. The dumpsters are marked with things you can’t put in them like say, chemicals and ammunition, but that doesn’t mean people don’t do it.

SeventhSense's avatar

@Halliburton_Shill
You see because we are involved with nation building and educating the Iraqi people about the latest education in regards to land and air pollution. The important thing is that we get American Contractors to oversee the whole operation. It’s unpatriotic to ask these questions. The Iraqi people aren’t American citizens. In fact they are only maybe 25% of an actual person. They’ve never had drive in movie theaters or owned a musket. Is it making more sense now? Good, let’s go get a Big Mac.
Everything is going to be fine. :>~

Halliburton_Shill's avatar

@SeventhSense Apparently American contractors are happy to run them as long as they don’t have to be responsible for the people who work at them. Keeps health insurance costs and employee turnover down.

Ron_C's avatar

Depends on where they are located, in the U.S. it is an illegal way for rural residents to dispose of their household garbage, in some South American, Eastern European, and African countries, they are way to hide the bodies.

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