Noteboom The Law Firm

Some Marines Given VA Benefits Due to Contaminated Water

June 23, 2010 - Camp Lejeune covers 156,000 acres in North Carolina. The drinking and bather water on the base was contaminated for about 30 years and may have caused serious health problems for many people. The U.S. Department of the Navy (UDN) demands more research to solidify the connection between soldiers' ailments and the contaminated water. Meanwhile, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been awarding benefits to a small number of Marines who were stationed at Lejeune.

The contaminated water in question existed on Lejeune's land from the 1950's to the 1980's. There is a very real possibility millions of people were affected by the contaminated drinking and bathing water. The contaminants in the water included:

• Trichloroethylene (TCE);
• Tetrachloroethylene (PCE);
• Benzene; and
• Other volatile organic chemicals.

 The UDN and the VA are at odds in handling these claims. The UDN oversees Lejeune and is continually funding research into the connection. While no presumptions are being made that the contaminated water caused any veterans' ailments, the VA has accepted and realized in some cases it is more likely than not this is exactly what happened.

Many people, however, view the VA's actions as admissions. Pending bills in the House of Representatives and the Senate would establish presumptions between illnesses stemming from the contaminated water and time in service.

Under a 2-year-old law, the Department of Defense (DoD) is required to notify veterans of their exposure through the Internal Revenue Service. For many, the notifications are the first veterans are hearing of their potential exposure.

The scope of this problem is absolutely massive. There are most likely hundreds of thousands of people that have been exposed at various levels. The degree of the contamination is in its very early stages of being recognized. Further, it has yet to be established what contaminants cause what diseases. Further research will be necessary before steady settlements between the VA, the UDN, and suffering veterans become commonplace.