366 - Veterans health screening.
§ 366. Veterans health screening. 1. As used in this section: a. "Eligible member" means a member of the New York army national guard or the New York air national guard who served in the Persian Gulf War, as defined in 38 USC 101, or in an area designated as a combat zone by the president of the United States during Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom; b. "Veteran" means a person, male or female, resident of this state, who has served in the active military, naval or air service of the United States during a time of war in which the United States engaged and who has been released from such service otherwise than by dishonorable discharge, or who has been furloughed to the reserve; c. "Military physician" includes a physician who is under contract with the United States department of defense to provide physician services to members of the armed forces; and d. "Depleted uranium" means uranium containing less uranium-235 than the naturally occurring distribution of uranium isotopes. 2. On and after February first, two thousand seven, the adjutant general and the state director shall assist any eligible member or veteran who has been experiencing health problems. Such problems may include exposure to toxic materials or harmful physical agents such as depleted uranium. An eligible member or veteran who has been assigned a risk level I, II or III for depleted uranium exposure by his or her branch of service, is referred by a military physician, or has reason to believe that he or she was exposed to toxic materials or harmful physical agents such as depleted uranium during such service, in obtaining federal treatment services. Such treatment shall include, but not be limited to, a best practice health screening test for exposure to depleted uranium using a bioassay procedure involving sensitive methods capable of detecting depleted uranium at low levels and the use of equipment with the capacity to discriminate between different radioisotopes in naturally occurring levels of uranium and the characteristic ratio and marker for depleted uranium. As more scientific reliable tests become available such test shall be included in the treatment protocol. No state funds shall be used to pay for such tests or such other federal treatment services. 3. On or before February first, two thousand seven, the adjutant general shall submit a report to the chair of the senate veterans, homeland security and military affairs committee and the chair of the assembly veterans' affairs committee on the scope and adequacy of training received by members of the New York army national guard and the New York air national guard on detecting whether their service as eligible members is likely to entail, or to have entailed, exposure to toxic materials or harmful physical agents such as depleted uranium. The report shall include an assessment of the feasibility and cost of adding predeployment training concerning potential exposure to depleted uranium and other toxic chemical substances and the precautions recommended under combat and noncombat conditions while in a combat theater or combat zone of operations.