The Department of Veterans Affairs will study whether kidney cancer is linked with exposure to chemicals used in military-grade firefighting foam and other products to determine whether veterans may be eligible for expedited benefits.
The VA announced Wednesday that the process could decide whether kidney cancer should be designated a presumptive service-connected condition for former service members who were exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, or PFAS, often called "forever chemicals" for their environmental persistence.
The designation would accelerate the process for veterans to receive VA health care and disability compensation, removing a requirement that those afflicted prove that the illness was related to military service.
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"At VA, we want to understand the health conditions that veterans are living with so we can provide them with all of the benefits they deserve -- and that's what this review process is all about," VA Secretary Denis McDonough said in a news release.
Several studies have shown an association between occupational exposure to PFAS chemicals or high blood concentrations of perfluorooctanoate, a PFAS chemical used in firefighting foam and other products, with a higher risk of kidney cancer.
Prior to passage of the PACT Act in 2022, the VA needed to issue a contract to research whether a medical condition could be linked to military service. The PACT Act cemented rules allowing the VA to establish for itself a presumption of a connection between conditions and service by examining all available studies and its own data, including VA claims.
The investigation into kidney cancer would be the first to determine a presumptive condition for veterans exposed to a toxic substance during military service regardless of location.
To date, the VA's exploration into possible service-connected conditions has been limited to those linked to environmental exposures overseas in locations listed in the PACT Act.
Since the PACT Act became law, the VA has extended presumptions for more than 300 conditions related to 23 general conditions listed in the legislation, including male breast cancer, urethral cancer, and cancer of the paraurethral glands.
The VA announced in July 2023 that it was exploring a connection between three types of blood cancer -- acute leukemia, chronic leukemia and multiple myeloma -- and service in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Yemen, Uzbekistan and all of the Southwest Asia operational theater.
It has not yet announced the results of that investigation. During a media roundtable in December, VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal said the process is lengthy.
"We do have to have a period of time to do the scientific analysis … and then of course we have to undertake the process of rulemaking, which takes some time," Elnahal said in response to a question from Military.com.
Federal research published last year showed, for the first time, a direct connection between PFAS and testicular cancer, but a similar causal link with kidney cancer has not yet been determined.
The Defense Department has been ordered to stop using foams containing fluorinated chemicals next month and to remove all stocks from active and former installations and equipment as well, although it has requested a waiver through October 2025.
The DoD has used firefighting foam containing PFAS on hundreds of military installations for the last 50 years and is now in the process of assessing the extent of contamination at 710 sites.
Regarding kidney cancer, VA officials said veterans should not wait for the outcome of the research if they have the illness and want to file a claim. Claims for conditions that are not designated as presumed to be related to military service are considered on a case-by-case basis.
"If you're a veteran and believe your military service has negatively impacted your health, we encourage you to apply for VA care and benefits today," McDonough said in the release Wednesday.
For the new study, the VA will solicit public comment over the proposal via the Federal register beginning Thursday.
The department also plans to host a listening session Nov. 19 to let researchers weigh in with any findings. The public can comment on the study through the Federal Register or during the listening session, department officials said.
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