Did Contaminated Water from Camp Lejeune Cause People to Have Parkinson’s Disease?

If you lived in the Camp Lejeune area in the 70s, 80s, or 90s, you could claim compensation against your medical expenses. Sufferers of certain cancers and Parkinson’s Disease could have developed their conditions due to the contaminated water supply. Here is everything you need to know that links contaminated water with Parkinson’s Disease.

What happened at Camp Lejeune?

Camp Lejeune is a Marine Corps Base Camp. It has seen use since the early 1940s as an important facility where marine corps members train. As of 1982, the CDC was aware of Volatile Organic Compounds in the water supply. Numerous attempts to source the contamination found that the nearby water plant was unsuccessfully processing water. Other areas of concern involved cleaning chemicals and toxins which were improperly stored onsite. Added to this, seepage from other sources led to the contamination of the water supply throughout the area. Anyone exposed to this contamination for over 30 days developed a higher chance of diseases in later life. 

The diseases linked to Camp Lejeune include:

• Adult Leukemia
• Aplastic Anemia and Myelodysplastic Syndromes
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Multiple Myeloma
• Liver, kidney, or bladder cancers
• Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma

(source: US Government Veterans Association)

Is there a link between Camp Lejeune and Parkinson’s Disease?

The link between Camp Lejeune and Parkinson’s Disease is difficult to deny. Parkinson’s Disease is one of the diseases associated with Camp Lejeune, as outlined by the CDC. Numerous studies link the two. 

This retrospective study run by the CDC themselves compared disease rates between Camp Pendleton and Camp Lejeune. They found that workers in Camp Lejeune were statistically more likely to suffer from female cancers, kidney diseases, leukemia, myeloma, and Parkinson’s Disease. They attribute this difference to exposure to contaminants. 

TCE and Parkinson’s Disease

Specifically, it is the Trichloroethylene (or TCE for short) in the water which causes damage to the brain related to Parkinson’s Disease. The likelihood is that TCE seeped into the water supply by way of industrial cleaning chemicals used in the plant. The cleaning equipment used to clean any metal in the facility held TCE. Repeated use down through the years caused a deterioration in health for those who used it and those who drank it in the water supply. 

A second study proves that TCE is one of the factors which cause Parkinson’s Disease. It is one of the few environmental causes of affliction that we know about so far.

One of the major studies often cited to prove the link between all three is the Goldman Study. This one specifies that TCE links with Parkinson’s Disease and that those who are exposed to it long-term are 6 times more likely to develop Parkinson’s Disease than those with zero exposure. 

What to do if you develop Parkinson’s Disease living in Camp Lejeune?

If you lived in Camp Lejeune during the specified years and you developed one of the aforementioned conditions, you could be eligible to claim compensation for the damages you suffered. Seek legal assistance to find out what to do next.