For over three decades, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune was the site of extensive groundwater contamination. With the recent passage of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, Congress has finally given survivors of this toxic contamination a new path to secure compensation for the impact on their health and well-being.
At Gartlan Injury Law, our Alabama Camp Lejeune lawyers are here to help you understand your rights and strategize a path toward maximum compensation. If you were harmed by contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, do not wait to speak with an attorney. Call our office for a free consultation today.
What Caused the Contamination in the Groundwater at Camp Lejeune?
Established in 1941, Camp Lejeune is a military training facility in North Carolina. Between 1953 and 1985, the facility housed service members and their families for extended periods. While at Camp Lejeune, these individuals drank and bathed in its treated water.
Eight water treatment plants serviced the base, two of which were affected by toxic groundwater contamination. These plants pumped the groundwater to be processed and distributed by tap to service members, their families, facility workers, and others.
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), the contamination in the first treatment plant is traceable to an off-base dry cleaner. Though less specific, the National Research Council (NRC) explains that contamination in the second plant is traceable to “on-base spills at industrial sites and leaks from underground storage tanks and drums at dumps and storage lots.”
What Toxic Chemicals Were Found in the Groundwater at Camp Lejeune?
The treated water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated by various industrial solvents and dry-cleaning chemicals. Most significantly, the toxins included:
Each of these chemicals was found in very high concentrations ranging from hundreds to thousands of times greater than permitted by safety regulations.
What Health Issues Can Result from Exposure to These Chemicals?
According to the ATSDR, exposure to the chemicals found in Camp Lejeune’s drinking water is linked to many serious health issues. Many of these illnesses only appear over long periods of time.
Further, many of the individuals exposed at Camp Lejeune were young couples in their reproductive years. Therefore, the contaminated water may have also affected pregnant women and led to abnormal fetal development in their children.
The list of illnesses linked to the chemicals found in Camp Lejeune’s water is quite long. Among other things, it includes:
- Bladder cancer
- Breast cancer
- Cardiac defects
- Cervical cancer
- Choanal atresia
- End-stage renal disease
- Esophageal cancer
- Eye defects
- Fetal death
- Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Kidney cancer
- Leukemia
- Liver cancer
- Low birth weight
- Lung cancer
- Miscarriage
- Multiple myeloma
- Neural tube defects
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- Oral cleft defects
- Ovarian cancer
- Parkinson disease
- Prostate cancer
- Rectal cancer
- Scleroderma
How Many People May Have Been Affected by the Contaminated Groundwater at Camp Lejeune?
So far, it has been difficult to estimate how many people were exposed to Camp Lejeune’s toxic water. Because groundwater contamination took place over several decades, this difficulty may be due to the fluctuating contamination levels over time.
Further, the military lifestyle of service members and their families means they lived at the site for varying amounts of time. This makes it difficult to determine who was exposed, as well as when and for how long.
That said, an estimated one million people may have been exposed to the facility’s contaminated water. If you were exposed to toxic waters at Camp Lejeune and are now experiencing its long-term effects, you should seek medical attention and legal advice as soon as possible.
What is the PACT Act?
In August 2022, Congress passed the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act. This law expands healthcare access, eligibility, and benefits to veterans exposed to toxic chemicals during service. The law also seeks to reimburse veterans whose benefits were wrongly denied. Notably, the PACT Act was passed only after decades of activism on behalf of impacted veterans.
