Is Thyroid cancer a presumptive condition?
The short answer
Yes. VA lists Thyroid cancer as presumptive for Burn pits and other toxic exposures (Gulf War era and post-9/11) and Ionizing radiation exposure.
That means you would not have to prove the medical link between this condition and your service. It does notmean a claim is approved. You still need a current diagnosis, service that meets the requirement for that exposure, and a discharge that isn't dishonorable, and VA decides every case itself.
Worth knowing: this condition appears under more than one exposure track. The tracks have different service requirements, so more than one path may be relevant depending on where and when you served.
Burn pits and other toxic exposures (Gulf War era and post-9/11)
How VA publishes it: Named on VA's presumptive-cancers page under the head and neck category.
Qualifying locations and dates
Afghanistan
Dates: On or after September 11, 2001
Djibouti
Dates: On or after September 11, 2001
Egypt
Dates: On or after September 11, 2001
Jordan
Dates: On or after September 11, 2001
Lebanon
Dates: On or after September 11, 2001
Syria
Dates: On or after September 11, 2001
Yemen
Dates: On or after September 11, 2001
Uzbekistan
Dates: On or after September 11, 2001
The airspace above any of these locations
Dates: On or after September 11, 2001
Bahrain
Dates: On or after August 2, 1990
Iraq
Dates: On or after August 2, 1990
Kuwait
Dates: On or after August 2, 1990
Oman
Dates: On or after August 2, 1990
Qatar
Dates: On or after August 2, 1990
Saudi Arabia
Dates: On or after August 2, 1990
Somalia
Dates: On or after August 2, 1990
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Dates: On or after August 2, 1990
The airspace above any of these locations
Dates: On or after August 2, 1990
Arabian Sea
Dates: On or after August 2, 1990
Gulf of Aden
Dates: On or after August 2, 1990
Gulf of Oman
Dates: On or after August 2, 1990
Persian Gulf
Dates: On or after August 2, 1990
Red Sea
Dates: On or after August 2, 1990
Neutral zone between Iraq/Saudi Arabia
Dates: On or after August 2, 1990
A large sulfur fire at Mishraq State Sulfur Mine near Mosul, Iraq
Dates: No separate date range published; VA lists this on the specific environmental hazards eligibility page as a way a veteran may have had exposure
Hexavalent chromium at the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant in Basra, Iraq
Dates: No separate date range published; listed by VA as a way a veteran may have had exposure
Pollutants from a waste incinerator near the Naval Air Facility at Atsugi, Japan
Dates: No separate date range published; listed by VA as a way a veteran may have had exposure
Any other country determined relevant by VA (none at this time)
Dates: Not applicable; placeholder published by VA
Afghanistan, Syria, Djibouti, or Uzbekistan, under the separate fine-particulate-matter rule at 38 CFR 3.320
Dates: On or after September 19, 2001
Everything listed under burn pits and other toxic exposures (gulf war era and post-9/11)
Ionizing radiation exposure
How VA publishes it: 3.311(b)(2)(ii).
Qualifying locations and dates
Cleanup of Enewetak Atoll
Dates: January 1, 1977 through December 31, 1980
Onsite participation in the response effort following the collision of a United States Air Force B-52 bomber and refueling plane that caused the release of four thermonuclear weapons in the vicinity of Palomares, Spain
Dates: January 17, 1966 through March 31, 1967
Onsite participation in the response effort following the on-board fire and crash of a United States Air Force B-52 bomber that caused the release of four thermonuclear weapons in the vicinity of Thule Air Force Base, Greenland
Dates: January 21, 1968 to September 25, 1968
Occupation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan, by United States forces
Dates: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)(ii)(B): "during the period beginning on August 6, 1945, and ending on July 1, 1946."
Internment as a prisoner of war in Japan (or service on active duty in Japan immediately following such internment) during World War II
Dates: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)(vii): "at any time during the period August 6, 1945, through July 1, 1946"
Onsite participation in a test involving the atmospheric detonation of a nuclear device
Dates: Defined by the named test operations and their official operational periods at 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)(v), listed individually below
Operation TRINITY
Dates: July 16, 1945 through August 6, 1945
Operation CROSSROADS
Dates: July 1, 1946 through August 31, 1946
Operation SANDSTONE
Dates: April 15, 1948 through May 20, 1948
Operation RANGER
Dates: January 27, 1951 through February 6, 1951
Operation GREENHOUSE
Dates: April 8, 1951 through June 20, 1951
Operation BUSTER-JANGLE
Dates: October 22, 1951 through December 20, 1951
Operation TUMBLER-SNAPPER
Dates: April 1, 1952 through June 20, 1952
Operation IVY
Dates: November 1, 1952 through December 31, 1952
Operation UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE
Dates: March 17, 1953 through June 20, 1953
Operation CASTLE
Dates: March 1, 1954 through May 31, 1954
Operation TEAPOT
Dates: February 18, 1955 through June 10, 1955
Operation WIGWAM
Dates: May 14, 1955 through May 15, 1955
Operation REDWING
Dates: May 5, 1956 through August 6, 1956
Operation PLUMBBOB
Dates: May 28, 1957 through October 22, 1957
Operation HARDTACK I
Dates: April 28, 1958 through October 31, 1958
Operation ARGUS
Dates: August 27, 1958 through September 10, 1958
Operation HARDTACK II
Dates: September 19, 1958 through October 31, 1958
Operation DOMINIC I
Dates: April 25, 1962 through December 31, 1962
Operation DOMINIC II/PLOWSHARE
Dates: July 6, 1962 through August 15, 1962
Service as a member of the garrison or maintenance forces on Eniwetok
Dates: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)(iv)(C): "during the periods June 21, 1951, through July 1, 1952, August 7, 1956, through August 7, 1957, or November 1, 1958, through April 30, 1959."
Assignment to official military duties at Naval Shipyards involving the decontamination of ships that participated in Operation Crossroads
Dates: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)(iv)(D) states no date limit for this activity
Amchitka Island, Alaska, in connection with the Long Shot, Milrow, or Cannikin underground nuclear tests
Dates: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)(ii)(D)(2): "Service before January 1, 1974, on Amchitka Island, Alaska, if, during such service, the veteran was exposed to ionizing radiation in the performance of duty related to the Long Shot, Milrow, or Cannikin underground nuclear tests."
Gaseous diffusion plant located in Paducah, Kentucky, Portsmouth, Ohio, or the area identified as K25 at Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Dates: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)(ii)(D)(1): service in which the service member was, as part of his or her official military duties, "present during a total of at least 250 days before February 1, 1992" on the grounds of one of those plants
Service in a capacity which, if performed as an employee of the Department of Energy, would qualify the individual for inclusion as a member of the Special Exposure Cohort
Dates: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)(ii)(E) states no date range; qualification is by reference to section 3621(14) of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384l(14))
Nevada Test Site (Department of Energy Special Exposure Cohort criteria as summarized by VA)
Dates: publichealth.va.gov states: "at least 250 days from Jan. 1, 1963, through Dec. 31, 1992"
What to do with this
Nothing on this page is advice about your claim, and it can't tell you whether you qualify. If the dates and places above look like your service, that is a conversation for a free accredited representative. If VA denied this condition before it became presumptive, VA says you can file a Supplemental Claim and it will look again.
Get your records together first
These claims turn on two things: proof of where and when you served, and a documented diagnosis. MusterVault keeps both encrypted and organized on your own computer and builds a packet for your representative.
Educational only, not legal, medical, or claims advice. Condition names are reproduced exactly as VA publishes them and were checked August 6, 2026. VA revises these pages often and its own pages sometimes disagree, so treat VA's live pages as authoritative. MusterVault is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.