Veterans Affairs Department
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is issuing this interim final rule to amend its adjudication regulations to establish presumptive service connection for nine rare respiratory cancers in association with presumed exposure to fine particulate matter. These presumptions would apply to Veterans with a qualifying period of service, i.e., who served on active military, naval, or air service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War (hereinafter Gulf War), as well as in Afghanistan, Syria, Djibouti, or Uzbekistan, on or after September 19, 2001, during the Gulf War. This amendment is necessary to implement a decision by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs that determined there is sufficient evidence to support these cancers as presumptive based on exposure to fine particulate matter during service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations, Afghanistan, Syria, Djibouti, or Uzbekistan during certain periods and the subsequent development of the following rare respiratory cancers: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the larynx, SCC of the trachea, adenocarcinoma of the trachea, salivary gland-type tumors of the trachea, adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung, large cell carcinoma of the lung, salivary gland-type tumors of the lung, sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung, and typical and atypical carcinoid of the lung. The intended effect of this amendment is to ease the evidentiary burden of this population of Veterans who file claims with VA for these nine rare respiratory cancers.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Veterans Affairs 38 CFR Part 3 RIN 2900-AR44 AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. ACTION: Interim final rule. SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is issuing this interim final rule to amend its adjudication regulations to establish presumptive ( printed page 24422) service connection for nine rare respiratory cancers in association with presumed exposure to fine particulate matter. These presumptions would apply to Veterans with a qualifying period of service, i.e., who served on active military, naval, or air service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War (hereinafter Gulf War), as well as in Afghanistan, Syria, Djibouti, or Uzbekistan, on or after September 19, 2001, during the Gulf War. This amendment is necessary to implement a decision by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs that determined there is sufficient evidence to support these cancers as presumptive based on exposure to fine particulate matter during service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations, Afghanistan, Syria, Djibouti, or Uzbekistan during certain periods and the subsequent development of the following rare respiratory cancers: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the larynx, SCC of the trachea, adenocarcinoma of the trachea, salivary gland-type tumors of the trachea, adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung, large cell carcinoma of the lung, salivary gland-type tumors of the lung, sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung, and typical and atypical carcinoi…
Citation: 87 FR 24421
