For decades, active duty Marines, their spouses, and their family members have lived in on-base houses and neighborhoods laced with cancer-causing chemicals.
For instance, from the 1950s through the 1980s, people living or working at the U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune - one of the largest Marine Corps Base on the East Coast - were exposed to certain harmful chemicals, including PFAS.
According to the VA, up to 900,000 military personnel and their family members were stationed at the U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1987, numerous of whom came to struggle with life-threatening medical conditions as a result of exposure to the chemicals present in the area.
The number of Marine Corps bases and installations with known contamination or suspected discharges of PFAS, continues to rise, according to an environmental advocacy group keeping tally based on information obtained from the Defense Department.
In addition to PFAS, which was the primary contaminant, there were other dangerous chemicals present on U.S. Marine Corps bases and installations that active-duty Marines and veterans may have been exposed to:
- trichloroethylene (TCE)
- perchloroethylene (PCE)
- vinyl chloride
- benzene
- halogenated hydrocarbons
- trihalomethanes
If you are a veteran or a family member of one who was stationed on one of the U.S. Marine Corps bases for at least one year and developed a severe disease, you are eligible for compensation, which our experienced legal team will help you recover.