The Drinking Water At Camp Lejeune Was Contaminated With TCE From 1953 Until 1987
A research study whose results were announced in May 2023 found the Camp Lejeune Parkinson disease risk was 70% higher when comparing Marines who were stationed at Camp Lejeune at any time from 1975 through 1985 to Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton during that period.
This new study, “Risk of Parkinson Disease Among Service Members at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune“, published in the journal JAMA Neurology, focused on the link between the industrial solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) and Parkinson disease. The US Department of Veterans Affairs funded the study, but it did not design or conduct the research.
In that new medical study, researchers investigated the issue of whether Parkinson disease risks were increased in military service members stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, during 1975-1985 when the water supply was contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
According to this May 2023 JAMA Medical News report, “Large Study Links Industrial Solvent in Drinking Water to Parkinson Disease Risk in Camp Lejeune Veterans“:
Neurologist Samuel Goldman, MD, MPH, had long felt obligated to dive into the question of whether the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that had contaminated the drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune up to the mid-1980s were associated with an increased risk of Parkinson disease.
Goldman waited a decade for the money to conduct such a study, he told JAMA in a recent interview. The National Institutes of Health turned down several grant applications, he said. Finally, the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) funded a new study, the results of which now appear in JAMA Neurology….
“Wells that provided water to the base during this period were contaminated by on-base sources, including leaking underground storage tanks, industrial spills, and waste disposal sites (largely TCE) and an off-base dry-cleaning business (largely PCE),” the coauthors wrote. As many as 1 million military and civilian staff and their families might have been exposed to the contaminated water, according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).
The important finding from this new Camp Lejeune medical study is evidence of a significantly increased risk of Parkinson disease (PD) associated with exposure to the solvent trichloroethylene (TCE).
As reported previously, during 1953-1987 water supplies at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina were contaminated with several VOCs. Levels were highest for TCE, with monthly median values greater than 70-fold the permissible amount.
Veterans and their family members who lived on Camp Lejeune for 30 days or more during 1953 to 1987, and who have been diagnosed with Parkinson disease, can have a Camp Lejeune claim filed to get legal compensation.
Remember that under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, your Camp Lejeune claim must be filed before August 9, 2024.
Camp Lejeune Parkinson’s Disease Case Resources
Camp Lejeune Parkinson’s Disease Cases and Legal Compensation
Camp Lejeune Justice Act: Cases, Claims, and Lawsuits Overview
Camp Lejeune Legal Advertisements and Town Hall Events in North Carolina, Around the Country
Camp Lejeune Lawsuit “Offset” Reduction to Legal Compensation: The Issue is If and How Much
Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Coverage Area Map (US Department of Veterans Affairs)
Parkinson’s Disease MedlinePlus Page (US National Library of Medicine)