The 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War was brief and entailed few US casualties in comparison with other wars, and yet it had a profound impact on the lives of many of the troops. Among the 700,000 US military personnel deployed in the battle theater, many veterans have reported chronic symptoms and illnesses that they have attributed to their service in the gulf. Numerous studies have been conducted to characterize the long-term adverse health consequences of deployment to the Persian Gulf. Potential exposures to numerous hazardous substances have been identified in association with the Gulf War. Most alarming are the smoke from oil-well fires that were set by Iraqis.
