Camp Lejeune is now a household name. Where and what is it?
Where is Camp Lejeune?
Onslow County, NC. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune is located in Onslow County in southeastern North Carolina. Camp Lejeune and the City of Jacksonville are adjacent to the New River flowing to the Onslow Beach area. Camp Lejeune occupies about 153,439 acres with 14 miles of beach on the Atlantic Ocean.
Source: Military Installations ➤
What is Camp Lejeune?
Home of expeditionary forces in readiness. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune is a warfighting platform from which our Marines and Sailors train, operate, launch and recover while providing facilities, services and support that meet the needs of our warfighters and their families.
The mission of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune is to support the various Marine Corps commands, a major Navy command and a Coast Guard command as well as the Marine Corps Base (MCB) itself.
Sources:
Military Installations ➤
Is Camp Lejeune a Superfund site?
Yes, Camp Lejeune is one of the Department of Defense’s 141 Superfund sites.
The EPA placed Camp Lejeune on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) on October 4, 1989.
Source:
EPA ➤
Who was exposed to the toxic water and for how long? Everyone at Camp Lejeune for 34 years, over one million people.
Marines, sailors and civilians were exposed to toxic chemicals in the base’s water supply for over three decades.
In 1982, the U.S. Marine Corps learned that members of the U.S. military, their families, and civilians were exposed to toxic chemicals in the base’s water supply over a 34-year period from 1953-1987.
Sources:
View Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Report ➤
Were adults the only ones impacted? No.
No, babies and children suffered or died. Many of the lives lost were of babies and young children. Mike Magner, a journalist, reporting on the Camp Lejeune water crisis in 2014, referred to parts of cemeteries near Camp Lejeune with the graves of babies and children – often two or three bodies per grave – as “Baby Heaven.”
One Camp Lejeune survivor conducting independent research confirmed over 200 small graves in at least two local cemeteries. There are likely other babies and children buried at those cemeteries or possibly at other nearby sites. Still, many of the names on grave markers are illegible and city records are incomplete.
Sources:
Civilian Exposure, The Forgotten Babies ➤
The Washington Post, A Trust Betrayed: The Untold Story of Camp Lejeune ➤
How many chemicals were in the water? 4 core chemicals.
There were four core chemicals and 70 secondary chemicals identified in the water including:
- Trichloroethylene (TCE)
- Tetrachloroethylene (PCE)
- Vinyl chloride (VC)
- Benzene
Source: SNARL ➤
How many times over the safe exposure limits were the chemicals? Up to 280 times.
From the 1950s to at least 1987, the drinking water was contaminated with chemicals at levels up to 280 times higher than what is permitted by safety standards.
In 2011 the U.S EPA declared TCE was a known human carcinogen and established a maximum exposure level at 5 parts per billion in the drinking water.
A May 1982 drinking water sample taken from Camp Lejeune’s Naval Hospital was found to contain TCE at 1,400 parts per billion.
Source: Poisoned By My Government ➤
What kind of diseases did the water cause? Cancers, Parkinson’s disease, renal failure and more.
The VA confirms that at least 15 diseases are caused by consuming the toxic water. However, additional illnesses have been experienced by former residents. They include:
- Adult leukemia
- Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes
- Bladder cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Liver cancer
- Multiple myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Parkinson’s disease
- Bladder cancer
- Breast cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Female infertility
- Hepatic steatosis
- Kidney cancer
- Leukemia
- Lung cancer
- Miscarriage
- Multiple myeloma
- Myelodysplastic syndromes
- Neurobehavioral effects
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Renal toxicity
- Scleroderma
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Information ➤
What disability claims process did the Obama administration implement? Two levels of benefits solely through the VA: presumptive benefits and compensation for family members’ out-of-pocket costs.
In January 2017, the Obama administration implemented a disability claims process through the VA. Outgoing VA Secretary Bob McDonald determined that there was “sufficient scientific and medical evidence” to establish a connection between exposure to the contaminated water and eight medical conditions for purposes of awarding disability compensation.
To date, approximately 71,400 Camp Lejeune victims have filed for disability claims, but just five percent have been treated for a recognized condition.
Sources:
NBC News, U.S. Agrees to Pay Billions to Marines Affected by Toxic Water ➤
Why have the poisoned alumni of Camp Lejeune consistently fallen short of garnering relief? North Carolina’s enforcement of a strict 10-year statute of repose.
Because of North Carolina’s enforcement of a strict 10-year statute of repose, thousands of victims have been unable to file claims in court. North Carolina is the only state where such a statute exists.
While the statute was recently amended for future cases, it does not apply retroactively and subsequently does nothing for Camp Lejeune victims who would like to file a claim but are outside the 10-year window to do so.
Source: Indy Week, N.C.’s ‘statute of repose’ provides an out for long-term polluters ➤
What is the Camp Lejeune Justice Act? A bill that allows the exposed military, their family members AND civilians to sue the the U.S. government for the harm caused to them from the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
The Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 provides a federal remedy to the residents of Camp Lejeune, military, civilians and their families.
Without this bill, the family members and civilians who suffered from diseases, deformities and loss of loved ones would not have an opportunity to hold the Government accountable for their actions.
Source: Congress ➤
How is the Camp Lejeune Justice Act different than the presumptive disability benefits and compensation? The poisoned family members, caretakers and civilians who lived and worked at Camp Lejeune can seek restitution in addition to the veterans and outside of the VA.
Poisoned individuals will be able to seek restitution from the U.S. government.
The bill prohibits the U.S. government from asserting specified immunity from litigation in response to such a lawsuit.
Even those without one of the presumptive illnesses may still have a claim.
If the exposed suffered or suffers from one of the presumptive conditions, the U.S. government will be prohibited from asserting specified immunity. However, even those without one of the presumptive illnesses may still have a claim.
Adults who lived on Camp Lejeune as a child and suffer from the exposure can also seek restitution.
Suppose an individual was damaged in utero or attended school at Camp Lejeune and later developed one of the recognized diseases. In that case, they will be able to seek restitution from the U.S. government.
Source: Congress.gov ➤