Question:

I was in the Navy for 4 years and I was a Corpman. As Corpman I served primarily with combat Marine units. I was at a USMC reunion last week and a number of people were talking about new benefits for veterans who were stationed somewhere in the Southeastern US. Any idea what they were talking about?

Answer:

I think you are referring to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. If you served on active duty at Camp Lejeune between 1957 and 1987, you may have been exposed to contaminated drinking water.

Two of the eight water treatment facilities supplying water to the Camp Lejeune base were contaminated with volatile organic compounds.

Water from the Tarawa Terrace Treatment Plant was primarily contaminated by PCE (perchloroethylene). The source of the contamination was the waste disposal particles at an off-base drycleaning firm. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) determined that the contamination at the Tarawa Terrace system had PCE levels that exceeded the current standards between November 1957 and February 1987.

Water from Hadnot Point Treatment Plant was contaminated primarily by TCE (trichloroethylene). The system was contaminated by multiple sources: leaking underground storage tanks, industrial area spills, and waste disposal sites.

Under a new law you can receive VA medical care if you are suffereing from any of the medical conditions described in the law (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr1627enr/pdf/BILLS-112hr1627enr.pdf) which include:

  • Esophageal cancer
  • Breast cancer
  • Kidney cancer
  • Multiple myeloma
  • Renal toxicity
  • Female infertility
  • Scleroderma
  • Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
  • Lung cancer
  • Bladder cancer
  • Leukemia
  • Myelodysplastic syndromes
  • Hepatic steatosis
  • Miscarriage
  • Neurobehavioral effects

And resided or served on active duty at Camp Lejeune for not fewer than 30 days between January 1, 1957 and December 31, 1987.

VA will provide care immediately for those conditions while your eligibility under the new law is confirmed. VA’s Public Health web site (http://www.publichealth.va.gov/index.asp) contains additional information about the law and links to other resources.

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