Glen Collins of Piqua came to Saturday’s PACT Act Town Hall meeting to see if he qualified for additional benefits under new veterans legislation.
He qualifies for health care and partial disability, but was denied two years ago when he applied for coverage because of possible exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. He served in the U.S. Navy in both Vietnam and Desert Storm, and thought he might qualify for additional coverage under the PACT Act.
He explained his situation during the Town Hall meeting, which brought numerous representatives from the Veterans Administration, the Kansas Commission of Veterans Affairs, representatives of local community-based outpatient clinics and more. They helped veterans check their current coverage and see if they qualified for additional benefits under the new act. They conducted toxic-exposure screenings and answered questions.
The event was organized by the LaHarpe VFW and Auxiliary.
THE PACT Act was passed in August and expands VA health coverage for veterans who have been deployed to theaters of combat since 1998.
It also adds to a list of health conditions presumed to be caused by exposure to burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic substances.
Sheli Sweeney, outreach specialist with the VA of Eastern Kansas, said the meeting was an opportunity for area veterans “to get information and get the help you need.”
“I’m a veteran, and nobody who ever served in the military doesn’t come away with some injury or condition,” she said.
She encouraged veterans who have filed a claim and been denied, like Collins, to submit a new application to see if they now qualified under the PACT Act. 
Key parts of the PACT Act also provide an initial toxic exposure screening for every enrolled veteran, with a follow-up every five years. The screening is a list of questions about service and activities. Veterans who are not enrolled but meet eligibility requirements can also enroll and receive the screening.
VA health care staff and claims processors will receive training and education about toxic exposures, and the act will help the VA build a more skilled workforce. It also requires research studies on veterans who served in Southwest Asia during the Gulf War, Post-9/11 veteran health trends and veteran cancer rates.
Finally, the act also authorizes 31 new medical facilities across the country.
Some provisions take effect at different times, with phased enrollment based on dates, places and types of service. Some took effect the day the bill was signed into law, Aug. 10, 2022.
Survivors also may be eligible for some benefits.
“Toxic exposure” covers a wide variety of possible exposures and hazards veterans may have experienced during military service. It includes:
Air pollutants such as burn pits, oil well fires, sulfur fire, sand, dust and particulates.
Chemicals such as Agent Orange or other herbicides, burn pits, Camp Lejeune water supplies, pesticides, depleted uranium, chromium or industrial solvents.
Radiation from nuclear weapons testing, x-rays or depleted uranium.
Warfare agents such as chemical or nerve agents, mustard gas, herbicide tests and storage.
Occupational hazards such as asbestos, lead, fuels, industrial solvents, radiation, vibration, noise, special paint on military vehicles and some coolants or insulating fluids.
The list of conditions presumed to be connected to toxic exposure was expanded to include numerous illnesses many veterans may not realize stems from their military service. 
It includes numerous types of cancers and respiratory illnesses such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or even sleep disorders, high blood pressure and melanoma.
Jamie Love, an employee of the VA in Topeka, talked about her experience serving in Iraq during the early days of the war, from 2004 to 2006. She talked about struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, and how certain sounds of smells can cause a reaction.
“We don’t have a lot of younger generations at the VA. I am trying to get out there and get them into the healthcare system because we are our best advocates for each other,” she said.
IOLAN MICHAEL Byers attended Saturday’s town hall event to learn more about the PACT Act, even though he’s already 100% qualified as a disabled veteran.
He retired from the U.S. Army after 23 years of service, traveling throughout the country and the world in missile repair work. He served in Korea, Germany, Crete, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait.
“The VA has taken very good care of me, and I was interested in how this will translate for others who aren’t 100%. I try to help other veterans when I can,” Byers said.
He needs to use an oxygen machine for COPD and emphysema, so he knows the kind of damage that can follow military service. His time was punctuated by numerous toxic exposure events.
“When we painted vehicles, we didn’t have masks, you used a kerchief. And then the open well fires. When ammo bunkers were being blown up, you’d have clouds of dust coming right over the top of you,” he said.
“I had a doctor at Fort Riley tell me, just wait about 20 years and you’ll start seeing respiratory problems. But then they lumped all of mine under the fact that I was a smoker,” he said.
“This is long overdue.”
AS FOR Collins, the Piqua veteran who served in the Navy during Vietnam, a disability claims representative found his initial denial was accurate because his service was outside the zone for coverage.
However, she believed he might be eligible for additional benefits under provisions for the Gulf War Syndrome, a variety of unexplained illnesses that affects veterans in the 1991 Gulf War. As the crowd thinned Saturday afternoon, she scheduled a toxic exposure screening for Collins and worked closely with him to see how the VA could help.
FOR more information about the PACT Act, go to va.gov/PACT or call Topeka VA Outreach at 785-559-8190.
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