Report: 600 U.S. troops described chemical-weapons exposure

WASHINGTON - More than 600 U.S. service members told military medical staff that they believe they were exposed to chemical-war agents in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the New York Times reported Thursday, but the Pentagon failed to recognize the scope of the cases or offer adequate tracking and care to those who may have been hurt, defense officials say.

Pentagon officials said the department would now expand its outreach to veterans and establish a toll-free hotline for reporting potential exposures and seeking evaluation or care, the paper said.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered an internal review of military records after the Times reported last month that U.S. troops encountered degraded chemical weapons from the 1980s that had been hidden or used in makeshift bombs. The initial report said 17 service members had been injured by sarin or sulfur mustard agent, and several more came forward after the story appeared, the Times said Thursday.

The Army's Public Health Command collects standardized medical-history surveys, which troops fill out as they end combat tours, the Times reported. Those who responded yes to a question about exposure to such warfare agents were asked to give a brief explanation.

The review ordered by Hagel showed that 629 people answered yes to that question and filled in a block with information indicating chemical-agent exposure, Col. Jerome Buller, a spokesman for the Army surgeon general, told the Times. Each person who answered the questionnaire would have received a medical consultation at the end of a combat tour, Buller said.

The Times said it was not clear why the military did not take other steps, such as tracking veterans with related medical complaints or giving warnings on risks to soldiers and to the Department of Veterans Affairs.