. >> susan burke is a lawyer representing former military and contractors, who say their health has beenendangered by burn pits. >> the taxpayers, government paid all this money to a company kbr which was formerly halliburton, to dispose of trash which was safe. instead they used open pit burning which was only supposed to be used in exceptional cases. >>> released reports on the continual use of open burn pits. while incinerators sat unused in the background. another report in december 2014 from forld operating base sharana found that incinerators were not being used. paid $5.4 million for the machines that reportedly had safety deficiencies. burn pits were still operational. a report from camp leatherneck in helman province, found continued use of burn pits while two brand-new incinerators sat unused and two others were not used to their capacity. the inspector general's report says more than $11 million was wasted. >> why do you think some of them were installed but not used? >> some were not installed correctly. some were not used. they built the incinerator in a poor location and th

. >> reporter: susan burke is a lawyer representing hundreds of veterans and military contractors whoay their health has been harmed by exposure to toxic smoke. she is suing the military contractor hired by the government to take care of trash. >> the taxpayers, the government paid all the money to a company, kbr, formerly halliburton, in order to handle waste disposal. they used open air burning, which is supposed to be used in exceptional circumstances. the office looked into the practice in afghanistan, and released several reports on the continued use of open-aired burn pits by other contractors. among them, a february report from the air base in harr at finding a burn pit. incinerators were unused in the background. another report in december 2013 from forward operating base found that brand new incinerators were not being used. a denver based contractor was paid $5.4 million for machines with safety deficiencies. and in july 2013. where over 13,000 troops were stationed at the time, finding continued use of burn pits, while two incinerators sat unused and two others not used. th

someone, they say, needs to step up and take responsibility >>> for more i'm joined from baltimore by susan burke, a lead attorney in a class action group, filing against a group contracted to get rid of rubbish from bases in iran and iraq. good to have you on the show. after vietnam there was agent orange, soldiers that suffered cancer from exposure to toxic herbicides. after the gulf war, soldiers suffered health problems, possibly due to fumes. and now these reports and lawsuits. the defense defendants response is the same sass in prior cases. >> that's true. sadly the commander in chief president obama said it's not becoming the next agent orange. in truth, it has. there has been delay, study, no progress. >> your lawsuit has 250 plaintiffs. are they suffering terrible health problems we witnessed in the story we just played? >> yes. and, in fact, the size of the class is much brighter than that. we filed 250 claims. there are many others that signed on as well. what we see are respiratory problems. we have cancers. up to 12 deaths. how many potential victims do you think are out there? >> it

. >> for more i'm joined from baltimore by susan burke, the lead attorney in a lawsuit targeting kbr, the contractor to git get rid of tons of garbage in iraq. susan good to have you back on the show. after vietnam there was agent orange, exposure to toxic herbicides. after the 1991 gulf war there was the gulf war syndrome, soldiers suffering from exposure to fuel from ammunition dumps. and the defense department's response is the same as it was in those prior cases. >> that's true. sadly we have the commander in chief obama saying this was not going to become the next agent orange but in truth it has. there's been delay, there's been study. but no real progress. >> so far, your lawsuit has 250 plaintiffs. are they all suffering the sorts of terrible health problems we witnessed in the story we just played? >> yes. and in fact the size of the class is much broader than that. we've filed 250 claims but there are many other hundreds that have signed on as well. and what we're seeing most predominantly are just severe respiratory problems. in addition, we have cancers with sadly up to 12

susan burke is a lawyer representing hundreds of veterans and former military contractors who say their health has been permanently harmed from toxic smoke from burn pits, she is suing the military contractor hired by the government to take care of trash on bases in iraq. >> the taxpayers, the government paid all of this money to accompany k.b.r., formerly halliburton in order to handle waste disposal in a manager that was safe. instead they used open air burning. >> america tonight wanted to talk to k.b.r., responsible for burn pits and incinerators, the company declined to comment. the office of the special attorney general for special reconstruction looked into the practice in afghanistan and reds several reports on the continued use of open air burn pits there by other contractors. among them, a february report from air base found a burn pit, while incinerators sat unused in the background. >> why do you think these were installed and not used? >> improper planning, i'm proper operation and maintenance and not holding contractors accountable for poor and slip shod work. >> it is ina