In this special episode, Captain Torres explains how landfill-like burn pits in Iraq gave him a chronic lung injury and a toxic brain injury. 

Captain Le Roy Torres served in the U.S. Army Reserve for 24 years, and spent a year on duty in Balad, Iraq. While there, Torres lived and worked in close proximity to a burn pit. These burn pits act as landfills, where everything from trash, to jet fuel, to medical waste was burned. They were extremely large, and the one near CPT Torres was approximately 10 acres in diameter. It burned 24/7, pumping toxic chemicals and smoke into the air, and into the lungs of soldiers.

As a result of breathing in these fumes, CPT Torres developed chronic lung and brain injuries, which forced him to visit the hospital over 400 times in 10 years.

Burn Pits 360 was founded by Torres and his wife in an attempt to improve post-deployment health outcomes for veterans, especially those caused by the burn pits. Recently, they helped pass the PACT Act, which expands benefits for veterans who were exposed to the burn pits. 

You can find CPT Torres on Twitter at @leroytorres01

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