304 - Longitudinal Surveillance of the Qarmat Ali Cohort: A Coordinated Effort between the Complex Exposure Threats Center of Excellence and Veterans Exposure Team – Health Outcomes Military Exposures Programs

Session Description: This one-hour session will review the coordinated effort between the Complex Exposure Threats Center of Excellence (CETCE) and Veterans Exposure Team – Health Outcomes Military Exposures (VET-HOME) programs to perform longitudinal surveillance evaluations for Veterans in the Qarmat Ali cohort. This cohort includes about 830 Service members—including National Guard, Reserve, and active-duty personnel—who guarded a water treatment facility in the Basrah oil fields at Qarmat Ali, Iraq in the spring and summer of 2003. At that time, the facility was contaminated with sodium dichromate dust, a source of hexavalent chromium. This session will provide detailed findings from the successful completion of five-year follow-up evaluations for the cohort of Veterans deployed to Qarmat Ali. This program reflects VA’s ongoing commitment to Veterans with military environmental exposures.

Educational Gaps: 1. The audience will better understand the environmental hazards experienced by Veterans in the Qarmat Ali cohort.
2. The audience will learn more about the CETCE and VET-HOME programs.
3. The audience will be able to describe the preliminary findings from VA’s longitudinal surveillance of Veterans in the Qarmat Ali cohort.

Is this session being sponsored by an ACOEM Section or Component?: No,

Has this session previously been presented?: No.

The AOHC 2026 theme is Healthy workers. Healthy world: This session focuses on ongoing surveillance of a group of Service Members to disodium chromate and all the typical exposures on the Operation Iraqi Freedom exposures such as burn pits. The overall goal of the visits is to screen for disease and to discuss methods and ways to improve their health. In addition, exposure information learned about in Veterans is passed on to DoD to potentially change practice to prevent future disease in Service members. In terms of a healthy world, preventive practices in terms of environmental exposures will benefit the people that live in the area.