Claims considered for project 112 or SHAD participants

BY LINDA MALLON Linda Mallon, a retired Army master Sgt., found her niche working with veterans and their families in Granbury. She is a former claims administrator for Blue Shield, of New Jersey, and senior personnel sergeant taking care of soldiers’ careers for more than 20 years.

Since the PACT Act was enacted, veterans have been filing claims for disabilities found to be presumptive due to their exposure to Agent Orange, burn pits, radiation, and other hazardous environmental conditions associated with their service. Individuals who participated in chemical or biological testing through Project 112 or Project Shipboard Hazard and Defense (SHAD) during the period from 1962 to 1974 who suffer from conditions recognized as presumptive due to exposure may also be eligible for disability compensation through the VA.

If you were part of these programs and are interested in test sites, unit participants, or ships involved, you can find this information on the declassified Defense Department Fact Sheets on the Health.mil website https://www.health.mil/Military-Health-Topics/Health-Readiness/Environmental-Exposures/Project-112-SHAD/Fact-Sheets or contact the Defense Health Agency exposure information hotline at 1-800-497-6261. A VA Special Issue hotline has also been established for veterans with questions about a claim for disability due to exposure during these tests at 1-800-749-8387.

Not all veterans who participated in these programs will have disabilities, however ALL veterans who suspect exposure to environmental hazards should contact Ernestine Anthony, the VA Environmental Health Coordinator at the Dallas VA Medical Center at 214-857-2562 or email Ernestine.Anthony@va.gov to schedule an exam. The purpose of these exams is to document your exposure and look for potential conditions you may have as a result. It also provides you with valuable information that your primary care physician can use to better anticipate potential health conditions down the road for early detection and treatment.

Enrolling in the Environmental Health Registry allows you to receive email updates and newsletters with information beneficial to you. More information on the list of Toxic Exposure registries can be found on the VA Public Health page https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/benefits/registry-evaluation.asp. In a previous article, we addressed hazards associated with aqueous film forming foam AFFF used in fire control on airfields.

Texas Veterans Commission published a memo regarding potential AFFF exposure, and we are prepared to file claims for individuals who may have suffered illnesses associated with that. If you suspect you have a condition associated with hazardous exposure that is not on the presumptive list, our office will file that claim regardless. If the claim is denied, and later the condition is recognized by the VA as presumptive or caused by exposure, we can reopen the claim with new evidence so long as we have a current diagnosis for the condition and we have demonstrated that you were exposed during service. This information is important to surviving spouses who suspect their husband’s cause of death may have been associated with toxic exposure, and we can review those claims also. Our office will be closed Oct. 9, 12 and 13. We will be back in the office on Monday, Oct. 16, but feel free to email us with questions.

lmallon@co.hood.tx.us |817-579-3292