Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Began In 1953 And Treatment Plants Continued Operating Until 1987

The Marine Corps failure to take swift action directly has led to the deaths of thousands of Marines and their family members

Monday, August 15, 2022 - The recently enacted Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA) is part of a larger bill titled the Honoring Our Pact Act. The CLJA nullifies the statute of limitations for bringing a lawsuit permitting Marines, civilians, and families that lived on the Camp Lejeune Marine Base the ability to file a water contamination cancer lawsuit if appropriate. The law requires a person to have lived at Camp Lejeune anytime from 1953 when the local water wells were first known to be contaminated, to 1987 when they were shut, and for at least 30 days to qualify. Of course, a marine, civilian employee, or family member must also have been diagnosed with a type of cancer that is linked with cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control, "In 1982, the Marine Corps discovered specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the drinking water at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The contamination of drinking water at Camp Lejeune started in the early 1950s, and the most contaminated wells were shut down in 1985." Expanding the statute of limitations back to 1953 opens the door for thousands of Marines or their surviving spouses to hire a Camp Lejeune water attorney and file a lawsuit. Thousands of Marines started families while stationed at Camp Lejeune and have moved to other parts of the country. The Marine Corps did nothing to inform those who had passed through or would pass through the base in the future about the polluted water. Lawsuits against the Marine Corps will focus on the pain and suffering of the plaintiff or in case of death, the hardship placed upon the family. The Marine Corps could have prevented thousands of cancer deaths of their own by being forthcoming with the Camp Lejeune water well contamination. Instead, they chose to hide the truth and hope no one would notice.

Today the Marine Corp claims that the base's drinking water is safe and has been since they shut down the last well in 1987. The source of the contamination is thought to be from a local dry cleaner improperly disposing of dry cleaning solvent draining into the Tarawa Terrace Water Treatment Plant. The Hadnot Water Treatment Plant was also contaminated by a leaky underground fuel storage facility. Other potential sources of contamination were from unlined waste disposal facilities and using PFAS firefighting foam to extinguish petroleum fires on the base. Toxins discovered in the two water treatment facilities at Camp Lejeune include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, vinyl chloride, and benzene. LegalReader writes, "The two nearby water treatment plants were contaminated by leaking underground storage tanks, industrial area spills, and waste disposal sites. According to a study by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), the contamination started somewhere around August 1953.

Thousands of Marines may have died because the Marine Corp failed to protect them and their families from the carcinogenic toxins in the Camp Lejeune drinking water. Surviving spouses, brothers, sisters, and others are filing wrongful death Camp Lejeune water cancer lawsuits on behalf of the deceased loved one.

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