PFAS Forever Chemical Cancer Is Being Ignored At Camp Lejeune
PFAS forever chemical water contamination is at levels thousands of times greater than deemed safe
Monday, May 29, 2023 - In 2016, levels of PFAS forever chemicals at Camp Lejeune were tested and found to be thousands of times greater than the amount the FDA deemed safe. To make matters worse, the Veteran's Administration (VA) has largely ignored claims for compensation based on PFAS forever chemical cancer. The Honoring Our Pact Act, which includes the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, stated a list of more than a dozen types of cancer and other illnesses including Parkinson's disease that are "presumed" to have been caused by Camp Lejeune water. More than 80% of the claims for compensation due to PFAS forever chemical cancer, according to the VM article, have been ignored or rejected because the VA requires the veteran to prove the connection between their disease and their service. " Even though the PACT Act affords presumptive exposure status to 23 new illnesses, PFAS-related conditions like prostate and thyroid cancer aren't included; as such, veterans will have to demonstrate their disease's service connection," VM wrote.
Beginning in 1953 at the latest, the U.S. military has ignored the water contamination problems at each of the nation's military bases and subjected millions of service members, civilian employees working on military bases, and the children attending daycare or going to school on the base to unknowingly consuming toxic, carcinogenic water. Ordinary drinking water has been contaminated on military bases in so many ways and to such an extent that it is nearly impossible to narrow down the chemicals that could be singled out as causing one's cancer. One significant way that the water may have been polluted on US Marine bases like Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and other military bases that include an airport is through the use of firefighting foam. Firefighting foam's use is mandated at all US air stations as in all US airports under the control of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Firefighting foam is used to extinguish jet fuel and petroleum fires by smothering them in foam containing per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) referred to as PFAS foam or AFFF (Aqueous Film-Forming Foam).
According to VirginiaMercury.com, " Between 1953 and 1987, nearly 1 million troops and their families were housed on Camp Lejeune's premises. Throughout this period, they were unintentionally exposed to severe health hazards and carcinogens that leached into the base's drinking water sources, including halogenated hydrocarbons, perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, and benzene." The military carelessly and recklessly handled firefighting foam and cleaned up after themselves by simply washing the spent firefighting foam down into local storm drains. PFAS forever chemicals are just that, they have strong molecular bonds that prevent them from degrading and bioaccumulating in the body quickly reaching levels that cause cancer tumors. PFAS chemical contamination has persisted despite Camp Lejeune's to efforts to clean up its water supply from other chemicals. "Despite the base being officially recognized as a Superfund site in 1989, subsequent investigations uncovered the presence of substantial quantities of per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS),: VM wrote.
OnderLaw, LLC and The Overholt Law Firm, PC -