Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Attorneys

28th September 2022

Veterans, family members, and others who were stationed lived or worked at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune between August 1953 and December 1987 may have been exposed to water contaminated with toxic chemicals. People who were diagnosed with cancer or another illness caused by Camp Lejeune water contamination may be eligible for compensation. The attorneys at RileyCate, LLC are currently investigating claims from people who have suffered adverse health effects after living and/or working at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina for at least 30 days, from 1953 to 1987, and were exposed to contaminated water at the U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp.

Camp Lejeune

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President Biden signed The Camp Lejeune Justice Act on August 10, 2022. It allows victims to file civil Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuits in federal court within two years of that date to receive compensation for their injuries outside of Veteran’s Administration benefits.  U.S. Government officials knew for decades that the water was contaminated at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. However, they failed to address the problem. From 1953 to 1987, those who lived on, worked in, or visited the base and drank the water or cooked or bathed in it, did so at serious risk to their health. Testing from two water wells on the base, which ended in 1985, revealed the drinking water contained toxic chemicals, including:

  • Trichloroethylene (TCE) – A liquid organic chemical used primarily to make refrigerants and other hydrofluorocarbons, degreasing solvent for metal equipment, and dry cleaning. It is also used in some household products such as cleaning supplies, paint removers, and carpet cleaners.
  • Perchloroethylene (PCE) – An organic chemical widely used in dry cleaning activities. It’s also used as a degreaser and in some consumer products such as shoe polish and typewriter correction fluid.
  • Benzene – A natural part of crude oil and gasoline. Benzene is one of the most widely used chemicals in the U.S. It’s used to make plastics, resins, synthetic fibers, rubber lubricants, dyes, detergents, and pesticides.
  • Vinyl chloride (VC) – A manufactured substance that can be formed when TCE and PCE are broken down. VC is used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is used in manufacturing various plastic products.

In 2014, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (“ATDSR”) issued a position statement on the water at Camp Lejeune, finding: “[P]ast exposures from the 1950s through February 1985 to trichloroethylene (TCE, tetrachloroethylene (PCE), vinyl chloride, and other contaminants in the drinking water at the Camp Lejeune likely increased the risk of cancers (kidney, multiple myeloma, leukemias, and others), adverse birth outcomes, and other adverse health effects of residents (including infants and children), civilian workers, Marines, and Naval personnel at Camp Lejeune.”

If you or a loved one were exposed to water contaminated by toxic chemicals at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between 1953 and 1987, contact attorney William N. Riley at RileyCate, LLC for your free case evaluation