美国国家公共电台 NPR Veterans Claiming Illness From Burn Pits Lose Court Fight

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The Supreme¹ Court has refused to hear an appeal from veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who say the toxic³ smoke from burn pits made them sick. A group of vets⁴ had sued the military contracting giant KBR for damages, but the 4th Circuit of Appeals ruled that KBR was under U.S. military direction when it burned tires and medical waste next to soldiers' barracks. Monday's Supreme Court decision ends their lawsuit⁶, but as NPR's Quil Lawrence reports, the issue of burn pits is not going anywhere.

QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE⁷: In 2007, Balad Air Base in Iraq was so big that several different bus lines carried troops from the airfields⁸, to the chow hall, to the barracks like a small city. And it produced tons of garbage, which was burned in open pits, sometimes right next to those barracks. And many troops that slept there got sick.

ROSIE TORRES: You know, he's got the lung disease and cognitive⁹ issues - horrific headaches.

LAWRENCE: Rosie Torres is talking about her husband, Leroy, who served 23 years before medical retirement¹⁰. He was at Balad in 2007. And he came home and immediately went to the hospital for a debilitating¹¹ lung condition. Things have gotten worse since.

TORRES: Here, recently, he's been diagnosed with a toxic brain injury, which we didn't even know was possible.

LAWRENCE: That's what's causing his memory loss and other symptoms, she thinks. The Torres have started an organization called Burn Pits 360, and in part, due to their lobbying, the VA created a registry where more than 160,000 veterans and counting have reported symptoms that they believe came from burn pit exposure. Hundreds of them were part of a lawsuit against KBR, which had the contract to dispose of the waste.

The case has been going nearly a decade until it finally died Monday at the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court let stand a lower court's ruling that KBR was acting⁵ under military supervision¹² and is immune from liability. So the court never took up the question about whether the burn pits caused the harm, says James Ledlie, an Army vet² and lawyer for the plaintiffs.

JAMES LEDLIE: Our veterans deserve better. There's no doubt that they were exposed to burn pits run by civilian¹³ contractors¹⁴. And it's unfortunate that they didn't have their day in court to have their claims truly adjudicated on the merits.

LAWRENCE: KBR has argued in similar litigation that it should be reimbursed¹⁵ for its legal fees, which in this case could be tens of millions of dollars. Neither KBR, nor the Pentagon, would comment on that by airtime. Vets who believe that burn pits made them ill must now rely on the VA to treat and compensate¹⁶ them. Which is a problem, says Paul Rieckhoff of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

PAUL RIECKHOFF: Burn pits are our generation's Agent Orange.

LAWRENCE: Rieckhoff is referring to the defoliant used in Vietnam that was found to cause cancer. Many vets died decades before the VA recognized their cancer was caused by Agent Orange. Some Navy vets exposed to it still aren't presumed to have a service-related condition. Rieckhoff says the data aren't conclusive¹⁷ yet about burn pits, but the fight is feeling familiar.

RIECKHOFF: The real parallel now with Agent Orange is that it seems like we're fighting the government to recognize that this exists. The Vietnam vets right now are still fighting for Agent Orange presumptions¹⁸. So we don't want to be sitting in the same spot 40 years from now fighting for recognition and health care support for burn pits.

LAWRENCE: That fight is in Congress, which is where burn pit veterans will have to turn next now that they've lost in court. Quil Lawrence, NPR News.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

3 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

4 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 airfields   

n.（较小的无建筑的）飞机场( airfield的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For several days traffic fromthe Naples airfields was partially interrupted. 那不勒斯机场的对外交通部分地停顿了数天。 来自辞典例句
• We have achieved a great amount of destruction at airfields and air bases. 我们已把机场和空军基地大加破坏。 来自辞典例句

9 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

10 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

11 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

12 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

13 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

14 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 reimbursed   

v.偿还，付还( reimburse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Any out-of-pocket expenses incurred on the firm's business will be reimbursed. 由公司业务产生的开销都可以报销。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Employees are reimbursed for any legal fees incurred when they relocate. 员工调往异地工作时，他们可以报销由此产生的所有法律服务费用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

17 conclusive   

adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的

参考例句：

• They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
• Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。

18 presumptions   

n.假定( presumption的名词复数 )；认定；推定；放肆

参考例句：

• Much modern technological advance is based on these presumptions of legal security. 许多现代技术的发展都是基于这些法律安全设想的考虑。 来自互联网
• What visions, what expectations and what presumptions can outsoar that flight? 那一种想象，那一种期望和推测能超越他之上呢？ 来自互联网