The Department of Veterans Affairs will research whether some veterans’ illnesses are connected to toxic chemicals they may been exposed to on installations and during deployments.
“[Veterans], for good reason, have been irritated with us as an organization because we have not done a lot of work — especially clinical work — on military exposures,” the VA’s chief of research development, Rachel Romani, said last week, according to Military Times. “I have apologized to them, and I have committed that in FY21, we are going to make major investments in toxic exposures.”
Romani said one veteran convinced her the research should also look into illnesses that veterans’ children have experienced.
National Guard photo by Spc. Joshua Syberg