The U.S. Department of the Navy has received more than half a million claims from people seeking compensation for injuries suffered after being exposed to harmful chemicals at Camp Lejeune.
In 1982, the U.S. Marine Corps discovered that drinking water at Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, was contaminated with certain chemicals. Out of the eight water distribution systems at the base, three of them that supplied water to the majority of family housing units “were contaminated with volatile organic compounds,” according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Diseases Registry. Contaminants included trichloroethylene, which is linked to cancer, and benzene, which can hamper cell processes.
