Servicemen stationed at Camp Lejeune marine base from 1975 to 1985 were exposed to an increased risk of cancer compared to other United States military bases, health officials said Wednesday.
A long-anticipated study compared military personnel who worked at the North Carolina base and those who did not and found alarming cancer rates for those stationed at Camp Lejeune.
Research showed that the contaminated water at Lejeune was linked to cases of leukemia, lymphoma, lung, breast, throat, and thyroid cancer. The contaminants also contributed to Neurobehavioral issues and Female infertility.
This study was released a week after one North Carolina judge expressed that “The court is open to the first Camp Lejeune’s trial as early as April,” the Lawsuit Information Center said. Arguments in the court focus on who got sick after living and working at the base.
In 1982, the Marine Corps found toxic compounds in the drinking water from two of the eight water treatment plants on site. The contamination was blamed on waste disposal from an off-base one-hour dry cleaner, leaking storage tanks, and industrial area spills.
One of the contaminants found was benzene, a chemical used to make the chemicals that produce plastics, nylon, resin, and synthetic fibers.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, from 1957 until 1982, volatile organic compounds in the toxic water used daily were supplied to most of the family housing units, schools, hospitals and offices. Federal environmental regulations for these chemicals were not finalized until 1989, but by then most contaminated wells had closed in 1985.
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When The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, compared personnel from Lejeune to those stationed in California’s Camp Pendleton, from 1975-1985, they found that common cancers were similar among both groups, but distinct ones were only prevalent in those who lived and worked at camp Lejeune.
In 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act to help those impacted by the water contamination.
