VA launches revamped burn pit registry with automatic enrollment

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Thursday that it rolled out an updated registry of veterans’ exposure to burn pits and other toxic substances while on active service, a move that came after months of delay in launching a more user-friendly version of the research database. 

The Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry collects data from veterans and servicemembers on their possible exposure to hazardous chemicals and airborne contaminants while serving abroad. VA said the database allows it “to identify and research health challenges of veterans and service members who were exposed to airborne hazards and burn pits during their military service.”

The revamped registry includes automatic registration for veterans, with the choice to opt-out those who do not wish to participate. The latest iteration also expands participation criteria, including veterans who served in specific theaters since August 1990. 

Veterans enrolled in the previous iteration of the registry were also automatically transitioned over to the new system. VA said the new system will include over 4.7 million veterans and activity duty personnel “who meet participation criteria,” based on DOD records.

VA Undersecretary for Health Shereef Elnahal said in a statement that the registry has no bearing on veterans’ benefits or services but that “it does serve as a catalyst for advancing new and innovative treatments for the veteran population as a whole.”

"This redesign massively expands the registry and reduces the participation requirements for veterans, paving the way for critical research in the coming years,” he added.

The department said the modernization effort came after “extensive feedback” from veterans demonstrated that “the burden of entry to participate in the program was too great.”

The initial launch of the registry in 2014 faced delays and led to bipartisan criticism about VA’s slow development of the congressionally mandated database. Almost 10 years later, lawmakers lobbed similar concerns at the department. 

Bipartisan, bicameral legislation introduced in June by Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Reps. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., would have required VA to submit a report to Congress on the status and timeline of the new registry. The lawmakers noted at the time of the bill’s introduction that Open Burn Pit Registry 2.0 was expected to be launched in October 2023. 

Federal oversight organizations also voiced concerns in recent years about the previous system’s benefit to VA, noting that the protracted onboarding process made it difficult for veterans to join and effectively undermined its research purpose. 

The VA Office of Inspector General warned in a July 2022 report that many veterans did not finish the database’s 140-item questionnaire, noting that it could take up to an hour to complete and that a question regarding interest in having an in-person medical exam did not constitute an official request. 

A similar review of the registry’s effectiveness released by the National Academies of Sciences in October 2022 also recommended that the database “be ended in its current form” and that VA take steps “to optimize the registry to be a user-friendly, efficient and effective resource to provide two-way communication between participants and VA.”

“This redesign addresses these challenges by broadening participation criteria, simplifying opt-out processes and automatically enrolling eligible veterans and service members based on DOD records,” VA said.