U.S. Senate passes bill to provide health care for Camp Lejeune water exposure

The U.S. Senate has approved a bill that will require the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide health care to veterans and their family members who have certain diseases and conditions as a result of exposure to well-water contaminated by human carcinogens at Camp Lejeune.

The Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act is included in the Honoring America's Veterans Bill.

North Carolina Republican U.S. Senator Richard Burr wrote the Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act. He says, "This has been a long time coming, and unfortunately, many who were exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune over the years have died as a result and are not with us to receive the care this bill will provide. "While I wish we could have accomplished this years ago, we now have the opportunity to do the right thing for the thousands of Navy and Marine veterans and their families who were harmed during their service to our country. I am encouraged that the House will pass this bill quickly and it will go to the President's desk for his signature."

North Carolina Democrat U.S. Senator Kay Hagan said, “This bill will ensure that those who were exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune will receive the health care they need and deserve. I applaud the efforts of Chairman Murray and my colleague from North Carolina, Senator Burr, who has worked tirelessly on this issue. Since I joined the Senate, the issue of water contamination at Camp Lejeune has been close to my heart, and I have been working to help provide answers to veterans and their families who have lived or worked on the Marine Corps Base. The push for answers continues, but in the meantime, veterans and family members are suffering. Many need treatment today and cannot afford to wait while studies are completed. The Marines and their family members affected by this tragedy have sacrificed to keep this country safe. After decades of denial, this country owes it to them to ensure they are taken care of in their time of need.”

An estimated 750,000 people may have been exposed to probable and known human carcinogens in the base's water supply between the 1950s and 1980s. To date, this is the largest recorded environmental incident on a domestic Department of Defense installation. 

---- Jerald Terwilliger National Chairman American Cold War Veterans "We Remember" ---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996

Asbestos, Mesothelioma risks and the US Navy

I feel it is necessary to repeat this post. This information applies not only to US Navy

veterans, but to all veterans; and to anyone who worked with or around Asbestos.

It can take up to 30 years or more for symptoms to appear, so if you were exposed to

asbestos please get checked for related diseases.

 

Please see the link on the left for more information on Asbestos exposure.

This is a very important piece of information for anyone who

served in the U.S. Navy.

Please keep this, copy and take to your doctor to discuss your

possible exposure to asbestos, possible health problems, and

ask to be checked for Mesothelioma. 

Asbestos and the United States Navy

The recent post on this site discussing Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the development of Chinese military capacity has a couple of telling remarks in it that apply to military spending habits. He mentions the “cyclical view” of American military decline that has occurred among foreign nations many times, notably in the late 1970s. It is fair to say that the view of American military readiness is related to American military spending not only on new weapons systems, but on the maintenance of existing equipment and the numbers of men and women on active duty.

After each of the two World Wars U.S. military spending was reduced dramatically and U.S. interest in maintaining a large combat-ready military dropped to peacetime expectations. Korea and Vietnam changed that pattern in the military for the length of those conflicts, but military spending during non-combat years has always been focused on new systems and not upkeep. The result over the decades has been the accumulation of outmoded bases, facilities and in the case of the Navy, outmoded ships.

Asbestos and the World War II Navy

It is well known by now that asbestos exposure can cause cancer and the development of asbestosis, a progressive and destructive respiratory disease. It is also known that thirty percent of all asbestos related mesothelioma cancer victims have been veterans. And the majority of the veterans who were at risk for asbestos cancer are Navy veterans. Sailors and shipyard workers who served on and worked on World War II Navy vessels were exposed to asbestos in engine rooms, alongside boilers, from the miles of pipe on the ships, and from the insulation and fire protection materials used in ship construction.

Every ship commissioned by the Navy from 1930 to about 1970 was fitted with tons of asbestos insulation, the perfect material for Navy use because of its insulation and fire resistant properties. Sailors inhaled asbestos fibers from the insulation that covered boilers and pipes and that was used for gaskets and packing in pumps and valves. Thousands of them got sick.

Asbestos and the Cold War Navy

After it became clear that asbestos is a carcinogen the Navy was fairly proactive in cleaning up its ships and eliminating asbestos products from newly built craft as well as in existing Navy bases and shipyards. But cleaning up all that asbestos in all those ships and locations took years and for many Cold War veterans asbestos exposure was a common occurrence. The USS Enterprise still has an asbestos abatement team on board, an example of the health risks associated with vessels of that era.

Asbestos exposure doesn’t take its toll for decades after it occurs. The latency period for mesothelioma is forty years or more. For asbestosis it can be twenty to thirty years. So Cold War vets who were unknowingly exposed to asbestos during active duty may just now be getting sick. After decades of denial the VA has finally recognized asbestos related disease as possibly related to active duty. It’s not easy to prove: the military insists that you be able to demonstrate that asbestos exposure occurred during active duty.

That’s not easy after a lifetime of post-service jobs and careers. But if you are a Navy veteran suffering from an asbestos related disease, don’t think that because your service came after 1945 the asbestos threat in active Navy duty is unlikely. Asbestos use was so common and so pervasive that exposure in all military branches continued through the twentieth century.

Source:

Bob Hartzell is a freelance writer for AsbestosNews.com, a resource on health risks and hazards commonly linked to dangerous levels of asbestos exposure, such as asbestosis and mesothelioma.

 

Jerald Terwilliger

National Chairman

American Cold War Veterans

"We Remember" 

---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996

Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act

A bill proposed in the 111th Congress, that would have provided medical care to members of
the military exposed to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune was never acted upon.

Senator Richard Burr R-NC has once again taken up the challenge. He has introduced S.277 that
will provide hospital care, medical services and nursing home care to veterans and their families who were stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina while the water was contaminated.

The bill is cosponsored by Senators Kay Hagen of North Carolina, Chuck Grassley of Iowa and
Bill Nelson of Florida.

Studies have shown that the water was contaminated with several chemicals including VOCs
(volatile organic compounds) known as PCE  including
(Tetrachloroethylene aka Perchloroethylene), TCE (Trichloroethylene), DCE (Dichloroethylene), Vinyl Chloride and BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylene).

These chemicals are known or suspected human carcinogens.

Many Marines, Sailors, their families, and civilian workers have been affected by contamination
in many forms including breast cancer, liver cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, ovarian cancer,
prostate cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, liver disease,  miscarriages, leukemia, non Hodgkins
lymphoma, birth defects (cleft palate, heart disease, Choanal atresia, neural tube defects, low
birth weight and small for gestational age).

Sadly, many of those affected by these diseases have not been informed of the danger of this
exposure.

Sen. Burr said "We now have another shot at doing the right thing for the thousands of
Navy and Marine veterans and their families who were harmed during their service to our
country." "While we continue to seek more answers, we can minimize further suffering by
allowing Lejeune veterans and their families to receive the care they need and deserve."

The Navy and Marine Corps maintain that the Camp Lejeune water contaminates have not been
conclusively linked to the illness and cancer that former residents and workers are now facing.

Sen. Kay Hagen (D-NC) said "Since taking office, it has been a priority for me to ensure that
the veterans who were exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune to get the answers
and care they deserve." "I will be working with Senator Burr to see that this important
bill gets passed so we can make sure we keep our promises to our veterans."

If you were stationed at Camp Lejeune between the 1950's and the 1980's please visit the Marine
Corp website Camp Lejeune Toxic Water, The Few The Proud, The Forgotten by going to
http://www.tftptf.com/

It is time for our country to stand up and admit the problem, and ensure that the thousands
of veterans and their families finally receive the truth. Time to allow these brave men and
women to receive proper and just care.

Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996