This year’s legal proceedings are being dominated by the Camp Lejeune litigation for a variety of reasons. The main one is that the Camp Lejeune Justice Act was passed this year. This law was passed after it was confirmed that the water contamination at Camp Lejeune led to many serious health effects. Thus, many of the people who were exposed are now filing lawsuits.
Camp Lejeune Water Contamination
A lot of people may wonder how the water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated for so long without being tested. However, it is a bit more complicated than that in reality, especially once the government got involved. Furthermore, the central issue is that there were multiple sources of contamination.
The epidemic of water contamination at Camp Lejeune started in 1953. This was a year after the first source of contamination opened up. That source was ABC One-Hour Cleaners, a dry cleaning shop. Even though the dry cleaner was off base, it was still close enough to the water supply to cause serious damage. Since they would dispose of their wastewater carelessly, a lot of cleaning chemicals would get mixed into the drinking water in the area. A few years later, almost half of the water treatment plants on base were contaminated. Once the water was finally tested in 1980, the country was shocked at what was found.
The water was full of harmful and toxic chemicals, including vinyl chloride, benzene, TCE, and PCE. PCE, or tetrachloroethylene, is said to be a carcinogen. Essentially, it is used for many industrial purposes. Also, it was used on the base to clean equipment. Hence, all of these substances in the water had some severe health effects.
Health Effects: Cancer
After postponing it for years and ignoring many warnings, scientists finally began testing the water at Camp Lejeune in 1980. The ATSDR, or “Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry,” found that the water was full of toxic substances for over thirty years. PCE was found in high levels in the water of the Tarawa Terrace water treatment plant. PCE and the other chemicals can lead to cancer if someone is exposed to them over a long period of time. So, the main cancers confirmed to be caused by the water contamination are:
- Bladder cancer
- Breast cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Leukemia
- Lung cancer
- Multiple myeloma (bone marrow cancer)
- Myelodysplastic syndrome
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Other Health Effects
Besides cancer, the Camp Lejeune water led to an increased risk of many other conditions. The other health effects caused by water contamination include the following:
- Female infertility
- Hepatic steatosis
- ALS
- Miscarriage
- Birth defects
- Neurobehavioral effects
- Renal toxicity
- Scleroderma
- Memory problems
- Insomnia
- Headaches
- Trouble concentrating
- Dementia
- Anxiety
- Parkinson’s disease
Youngest Victims
Not only were people exposed to the water, but so were unborn infants. Thus, the youngest victims today who were directly affected were born in 1987 and would be 35 as of 2022. Of course, many more people were harmed indirectly (including family members).
In a study, infants from Camp Lejeune had a 4 times higher risk of neural tube birth abnormalities than infants from the control group. Some of them were exposed to the contaminated Camp Lejeune water while they were still developing, which caused them to experience numerous health problems, including birth deformities. Spina bifida was the most typical neural tube defect identified in these newborns. Sadly, a lot of these infants did not make it. Those who did frequently endured lifelong medical difficulties. Thus, the health effects of water contamination.
In addition, many of the pregnant women who have lived at Camp Lejeune say they experienced other health problems, such as:
- Miscarriages
- Stillbirths
- Birth defects
The government avoided taking responsibility for the consequences of the contamination at Camp Lejeune for years, even though the evidence pointed to a clear link between the water at the base and these health problems. However, as of 2022, the government is taking responsibility, and people can finally file for compensation.