Presumptive Disability Benefits

Agent Orange exposure and VA disability compensation

Agent Orange was a tactical herbicide the U.S. military used to clear leaves and vegetation for military operations mainly during the Vietnam War. Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange may have certain related illnesses.

If you have an illness caused by exposure to Agent Orange during military service, read below to find out if you may be eligible for disability compensation.

The VA has added 5 more presumptive conditions related to Agent Orange exposure

This expands benefits for Veterans and survivors with these presumptive conditions:

• Hypertension (High Blood Pressure). 
• Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) 
• Bladder cancer.
• Hypothyroidism.
• Parkinsonism.

Cancers caused by Agent Orange exposure

• Bladder cancer: A type of cancer that affects the bladder where urine is stored before it leaves the body. The most common type of bladder cancer starts in the cells that line the inside of the bladder. This is called urothelial or transitional cell carcinoma.
• Chronic B-cell leukemia: A type of cancer that affects white blood cells. These are cells in the body’s immune system that help to fight off illnesses and infections.
• Hodgkin’s disease: A type of malignant lymphoma (cancer) that causes the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen to grow progressively larger. It also causes red blood cells to decrease more and more over time (called anemia).
• Multiple myeloma: A type of cancer that affects the plasma cells. These are a type of white blood cells made in the bone marrow that help to fight infection.
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma: A group of cancers that affect the lymph glands and other lymphatic tissue. These are parts of the immune system that help to fight infection and illness.
• Prostate cancer: Cancer of the prostate and one of the most common cancers among men
• Respiratory cancers (including lung cancer): Cancers of the organs involved in breathing. These include cancers of the lungs, larynx, trachea, and bronchus.
• Some soft tissue sarcomas: A group of different types of cancers in body tissues such as muscle, fat, blood and lymph vessels, and connective tissues. We don’t include osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or mesothelioma on our list of presumptive diseases.

Other illnesses caused by Agent Orange exposure

• AL amyloidosis: A rare illness that happens when an abnormal protein (called amyloid) enters the body’s tissues or organs. These include the organs like the heart, kidneys, or liver.
• Chloracne (or other types of acneiform disease like it): A skin condition that happens soon after exposure to chemicals. It looks like common forms of acne often seen in teenagers. Under our rating regulations, this condition must be at least 10% disabling within 1 year of herbicide exposure.
• Diabetes mellitus type 2: An illness that happens when the body can’t respond to the hormone insulin the way it should. This leads to high blood sugar levels.
• Hypothyroidism: A condition that causes the thyroid gland to not produce enough of certain important hormones. Hypothyroidism can cause health problems like obesity, joint pain, infertility, and heart disease.
• Ischemic heart disease: A type of heart disease that happens when the heart doesn’t get enough blood. This leads to chest pain.
• Parkinsonism: Any condition that causes a combination of abnormal movements. These include slow movements, trouble speaking, stiff muscles, or tremors. Tremors are rhythmic shaking movements in a part of the body caused by muscle contractions that you can't control.
• Parkinson’s disease: A progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects muscle movement—and often worsens over time. The nervous system is the network of nerves and fibers that send messages between the brain and spinal cord and other areas of the body.
• Peripheral neuropathy, early onset: An illness of the nervous system that causes numbness, tingling, and motor (or muscle) weakness. Under our rating regulations, this condition must be at least 10% disabling within 1 year of herbicide exposure.
• Porphyria cutanea tarda: A rare illness that can make the liver stop working the way it should. It can also cause the skin to thin and blister when exposed to the sun. Under our rating regulations, this condition must be at least 10% disabling within 1 year of herbicide exposure. 

If you have an illness that’s not on our list of presumptive diseases, but you believe it was caused by Agent Orange exposure, you can still file a claim for VA disability benefits. But you’ll need to submit more evidence. 

Service requirements for presumption of exposure

The VA bases eligibility for disability compensation benefits, in part, on whether you served in a location that exposed you to Agent Orange. The VA calls this having a presumption of exposure.

You have a presumption of exposure if you meet at least one of the service requirements listed below.

Between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, you must have served for any length of time in at least one of these locations:

• In the Republic of Vietnam, or
• Aboard a U.S. military vessel that operated in the inland waterways of Vietnam, or
• On a vessel operating not more than 12 nautical miles seaward from the demarcation line of the waters of Vietnam and Cambodia. 

Or you must have served in at least one of these locations that we've added based on the PACT Act: 

• Any U.S. or Royal Thai military base in Thailand from January 9, 1962, through June 30, 1976, or
• Laos from December 1, 1965, through September 30, 1969, or
• Cambodia at Mimot or Krek, Kampong Cham Province from April 16, 1969, through April 30 1969, or
• Guam or American Samoa or in the territorial waters off Guam or American Samoa from January 9, 1962, through      July 31, 1980, or
• Johnston Atoll or on a ship that called at Johnston Atoll from January 1, 1972, through September 30, 1977. 

Or at least one of these must be true. You:

• Served in or near the Korean DMZ for any length of time between September 1, 1967, and August 31, 1971, or
• Served on active duty in a regular Air Force unit location where a C-123 aircraft with traces of Agent Orange was assigned, and had repeated contact with this aircraft due to your flight, ground, or medical duties, or
• Were involved in transporting, testing, storing, or other uses of Agent Orange during your military service, or
• Were assigned as a Reservist to certain flight, ground, or medical crew duties at one of the below locations.

Eligible Reserve locations, time periods, and units include:

• Lockbourne/Rickenbacker Air Force Base in Ohio, 1969 to 1986 (906th and 907th Tactical Air Groups or 355th and 356th Tactical Airlift Squadrons).
• Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts, 1972 to 1982 (731st Tactical Air Squadron and 74th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, or 901st Organizational Maintenance Squadron).
• Pittsburgh International Airport in Pennsylvania, 1972 to 1982 (758th Airlift Squadron).

What kind of benefits can I get?

• Health care.
• Compensation (payments).

Camp Lejeune water contamination health issues

If you served at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune or Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River in North Carolina, you may have had contact with contaminants in the drinking water there. Scientific and medical evidence has shown an association between exposure to these contaminants during military service and development of certain diseases later on. If you have qualifying service at Camp Lejeune and a current diagnosis of one of the conditions listed below, you may be able to get disability benefits.

Eligibility for disability benefits from VA

You may be eligible for disability benefits if you meet all of the requirements listed below.

Both of these must be true. You:

• Served at Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River for at least 30 cumulative days from August 1953 through December 1987, and
• Didn’t receive a dishonorable discharge when you separated from the military.

And you must have a diagnosis of one or more of these presumptive conditions:

• Adult leukemia.
• Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes.
• Bladder cancer.
• Kidney cancer.
• Liver cancer.
• Multiple myeloma.
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
• Parkinson’s disease.

Who’s covered?

• Veterans.
• Reservists.
• Guardsmen.

What kind of benefits can I get?

• Health care.
• Compensation (payments).

Gulf War Illnesses linked to Southwest Asia service and Afghanistan service

If you served in the Southwest Asia Theater of military operations, you may suffer from illnesses or other conditions that the VA assumes are related to service in this region (presumptive diseases). 

Eligibility for disability benefits from VA

You may be eligible for disability benefits if you served in the Southwest Asia Theater of military operations during the Gulf War period and you didn’t receive a dishonorable discharge.

You can get benefits for your illness or condition if both of these descriptions are true for you and you have one of these presumptive diseases.

Both of these must be true. Your illness or condition:

• Caused you to be ill for at least 6 months, and
• Resulted in a disability rating of 10% or more. 

And you have one of these presumptive diseases:

• Functional gastrointestinal disorders.
• Chronic fatigue syndrome.
• Fibromyalgia.
• Other undiagnosed illnesses, including but not limited to cardiovascular disease, muscle and joint pain, and headaches.

If your illness or condition was diagnosed within one year of your date of separation

You can get disability benefits for your illness or condition if you have a disability rating of 10% or more and you have one of these presumptive diseases:

• Brucellosis. 
• Campylobacter jejuni.
• Coxiella burnetii (Q fever).
• Nontyphoid salmonella.
• Shigella.
• West Nile virus.
• Malaria (or sooner in some cases).

If your illness or condition was diagnosed at any time after your date of separation

You can get disability benefits for your illness or condition if you have a disability rating of 10% or more and you have one of these presumptive diseases:

• Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
• Visceral leishmaniasis.

Gulf War and Afghanistan service locations for undiagnosed illness presumptive conditions: 

If you served in any of these locations on or after August 2, 1990, the VA presumes your undiagnosed illness is associated with your service:

• Afghanistan (airspace not included).
• Bahrain.
• Egypt (airspace not included). 
• Iraq.
• Israel (airspace not included). 
• Jordan (airspace not included). 
• Kuwait.  
• Neutral zone between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. 
• Oman. 
• Qatar. 
• Saudi Arabia. 
• Syria (airspace not included).
• Turkey (airspace not included). 
• The United Arab Emirates (UAE). 
• The waters of the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea. 

Note: The airspace above all of the countries and locations listed in this section is recognized, unless specified that it's not included. 

 What kind of disability benefits can I get?

• Health care.
• Compensation (payments).

Exposure to burn pits and other specific environmental hazards  

If you have a health condition caused by exposure to burn pits or other specific hazards in the air, soil, or water during your service, you may be eligible. .

Eligibility for VA disability compensation: 

All of these must be true: 

• Have a diagnosed illness or other health condition that's caused by exposure to a specific toxic hazard in the air, soil, or water, and
• Served on active-duty in location that exposed you to the hazard, and
• Didn't receive a dishonorable discharge.  

Here are some ways you may have had exposure to specific environmental hazards: 

• Burn pits and other toxic exposure in Afghanistan, Iraq, and certain other areas.
• A large sulfur fire at Mishraq State Sulfur Mine near Mosul, Iraq.
• Hexavalent chromium at the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant in Basra, Iraq.
• Pollutants from a waste incinerator near the Naval Air Facility at Atsugi, Japan.

Cancers caused by burn pit and other toxic exposure (Presumptive Conditions) 

• Brain Cancer. 
• Gastrointestinal cancer of any type. 
• Glioblastoma. 
• Head cancer of any type. 
• Kidney cancer. 
• Lymphoma of any type. 
• Melanoma. 
• Neck cancer of any type. 
• Pancreatic cancer. 
• Reproductive cancer of any type. 
• Respiratory cancer of any type. 

Other illnesses caused by burn pit and other toxic exposure

• Asthma that was diagnosed after service. 
• Chronic bronchitis. 
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 
• Chronic rhinitis. 
• Chronic sinusitis. 
• Constrictive bronchiolitis or obliterative bronchiolitis. 
• Emphysema. 
• Granulomatous disease. 
• Interstitial lung disease (ILD). 
• Pleuritis. 
• Pulmonary fibrosis. 
• Sarcoidosis. 

Service requirements for presumption of exposure

The VA bases eligibility for disability compensation benefits, in part, on whether you served in a location that exposed you to burn pit or other toxins. The VA calls this having a presumption of exposure.

You have a presumption of exposure if you meet at least one of the service requirements listed below.

On or after September 11, 2001, in any of these locations:

• Afghanistan. 
• Djibouti. 
• Egypt. 
• Jordan. 
• Lebanon. 
• Syria. 
• Uzbekistan. 
• Yemen. 
• The airspace above any of these locations. 

On or after August 2, 1990, in any of these locations:  

• Bahrain. 
• Iraq. 
• Kuwait. 
• Oman.
• Qatar. 
• Saudi Arabia. 
• Somalia. 
• The United Arab Emirates (UAE). 
• The Airspace above any of these locations. 

What kind of disability benefits can I get?

• Health care.
• Compensation (payments).