What was actually in that smoke
Open-air burn pits torched everything — plastics, metals, electronics, fuel, medical waste — often for years, often right beside where troops slept and worked.
That smoke carried fine particulates and chemical compounds small enough to reach deep lung tissue and cross into the bloodstream. "Just dust" it was not.
Takeaway
Burn-pit smoke carried fine particles small enough to reach deep lung tissue and the bloodstream.