Pitt-Greensburg hosts veterans benefits fair as deadline nears for toxic exposure claims

Veterans and their survivors are invited to attend a claims and enrollment fair Tuesday at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, to learn about benefits that have been expanded to cover more people who were exposed to toxic substances during military service.

The Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System is sponsoring the event from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Powers Hall, off Lynch Drive on the Pitt-Greensburg campus in Hempfield. It will be followed at 3 p.m. by a Veterans Town Hall meeting on various topics that is open to the public.

During the fair, veterans will learn about an Aug. 9 claims-filing deadline. They also can complete a brief screening to determine their risk for military toxic exposures to burn pits, Agent Orange or other substances.

“Our nurses will be sitting down one-on-one with them to try to identify if they may have been exposed to toxic substances,” said Shelley Nulph, public and community relations manager for the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.

Veterans attending the fair can meet with representatives from the Veterans Benefits Administration and Veterans Health Administration to file benefit claims or enroll for VA health care. Those newly applying for benefits should bring their military discharge papers.

Veterans also can learn about recently expanded eligibility and benefits under the federal Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act.

Signed into law on Aug. 10, 2022, the PACT Act adds more than 20 health conditions to the list of those the VA presumes are caused by a toxic exposure if the person served in a given time frame and location.

Added presumptive conditions linked to Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War include high blood pressure. Brain cancer, lymphoma and melanoma are among 11 types of cancer that have been added to the list of presumptive conditions for exposure to burn pits or other toxic exposures during Gulf War or post-9/11 military service.

Camp Lejeune

Law firms have been running TV ads about VA disability claims for those who served between Aug. 1, 1953 and Dec. 31, 1987 at Camp Lejeune, because of chemicals found in the drinking water at the Marine Corps base in North Carolina.

At Tuesday’s fair, those who may be affected “can talk to our experts about Camp Lejeune,” said Nulph. “A lot of law firms have been trying to jump on that bandwagon. A veteran does not need to work with a lawyer to try to get them benefits.”

There is an Aug. 9 claims deadline associated with PACT Act benefits.

Veterans “can apply for benefits after Aug. 9,” said Nulph, “but, if they apply before then, and they are found to be eligible, their benefits would be back-dated to last August, when the bill was signed.”

The PACT Act is named for an Ohio Army National Guardsman who died in 2020 from a rare cancer caused by prolonged exposure to toxic substances.

During the town hall, Nulph said, veterans agencies will be joined by representatives from the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies, which is located in Cecil Township, Washington County, “to let people know what’s going on out there and if they want to look into VA burial benefits.”

Additional area veterans benefit fairs and town halls, operating on a similar time schedule, are set for: July 27 at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus; Aug. 7 at Beaver County Community College; and Aug. 8 at the Washington County Veterans Affairs Office, 95 West Beau St., Washington.