Is toxic poisoning from the use of Baralyme & Soda Lime included in the PACT Act?

2023-02-02T11:41:16-05:00

Baralyme & Soda Lime are highly toxic chemicals that the U.S. Navy discontinued use of in the mid-90's. But prior to that, the Navy UDT and SEAL Divers had to breath through these chemicals in undiluted form while using their closed circuit scuba gear. These chemicals are known to cause chemical burns, blindness, lung damage, skin irritation, rashes, and more. Today, their packaging states similar language such as ....."a highly corrosive poison; a corrosive & toxic substance; a dangerous chemical; used as an industrial cleaning agent." The breathing through these chemicals back then with these closed circuit scuba rigs is causing those veterans to now have several health conditions that need to be addressed. Serious dental health issues; serious lung conditions causing ongoing and sometimes uncontrollable coughing; itching and flaking skin in and around some body parts that are associated with the throat. This could also contribute greatly to acid reflux, and side effects on the brain such as TBI, PTSD or mental illness. The Navy UDT/SEAL Association and the Navy SEAL Foundation should be encouraged to contact as many of their former Teammates as possible to research this topic so that these veterans can receive treatment for these health conditions that they are now suffering from.

Response by COL Randall C. made Feb 2 at 2023 12:16 PM

2023-02-02T12:16:38-05:00

PO3 Ken Roper, I think you're the sixth person I responded to in the past two days regarding the PACT Act. Just curious, was there something that prompted you to ask the question now?

Regarding your question - no, there isn't anything regarding either baralyme or Soda lime in the PACT Act (in fact, I can't find any studies including those two in the VA databases).

If you're just asking as a hypothetical, then that should suffice. If you have an unasked follow-up of "why not", the answer is the same I gave to someone recently - The same reason that the vast majority other environmental hazards that are faced while in military service aren't part of it - either the science is clear about exposure (for example, skin burns from exposure to acids isn't part of the PACT Act either) or there wasn't been a marked statistical deviation from the 'norm' in service members (or at least not yet) becoming ill/injured due to environmental exposure.

One commonly misunderstood item about the VA is that just because you had exposure doesn't mean you receive some compensation or health care coverage. There needs to be a service connected illness or injury in order to be covered.

If in fact you have a lasting illness/injury related to baralyme or soda lime exposure, then as long as you can prove a service connection, you should be fine in getting VA health care coverage for treatment and/or a VA disability for it.

However, if you or anyone else believe you have had toxic exposure from something in your military service, I suggest you contact your local VA's Environmental Health Coordinator (EHC)* and discuss next steps about being evaluated.
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* https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/coordinators.asp

VA.gov | Veterans Affairs

Apply for and manage the VA benefits and services you’ve earned as a Veteran, Servicemember, or family member—like health care, disability, education, and more.

Response by SSgt Christophe Murphy made Feb 2 at 2023 1:20 PM

2023-02-02T13:20:18-05:00

Are there documented cases in regards to this? I did some research and soda lime still currently is being used as a scrubbing agent in rebreathers. I don't know if the Pact Act would address this but connecting the dots between ailments and rebreathers wouldn't be hard if the medical history and documentation is there.