Toxic exposure: Camp Lejeune

Camp Lejeune Water and VA Disability Claims

Name: Camp Lejeune Water and VA Disability Claims
Creator: Patriot Path Medical Team

From 1953 to 1987, the drinking water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated with toxic chemicals. Marines, sailors, and the families and staff who lived or worked there drank and bathed in it for years.

If you served at Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River for at least 30 days in that window and you have one of eight listed conditions, your claim is presumptive and no nexus letter is needed. If your condition is not on the list, the same chemicals may still support a direct claim.

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What was in the Camp Lejeune water

Two base water systems were contaminated with industrial solvents and fuel chemicals: trichloroethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE), benzene, and vinyl chloride. They came from a base degreasing operation, an off-base dry cleaner, and leaking fuel tanks.

These chemicals are tied to cancers of the blood, bladder, kidney, and liver, and to Parkinson's disease. The VA recognizes eight presumptive conditions for them. If your condition is not one of the eight, the cross-walk below shows how the same chemicals may connect it.

Who qualifies, and what it means for you

If you meet the rule and have a listed condition, this is likely presumptive and you do not need a nexus letter. If not, there is still a path. Check yours.

Are you in the presumptive window?

Check the rule and your condition. Two answers and you will know whether this is likely a presumptive claim or one that needs a nexus letter. Orientation only, not a claim decision.

Who qualifies

Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River, North Carolina.

Dates: August 1, 1953 to December 31, 1987.

Time in service: 30 days total.

Active duty, Reserve, or Guard service that meets the time and place qualifies.

1. Does your service match that place and time?

2. Do you have one of these conditions?

Adult leukemia
Aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndromes
Bladder cancer
Kidney cancer
Liver cancer
Multiple myeloma
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Parkinson's disease

Where this exposure can still win a claim

Many conditions are tied to the specific chemicals you were exposed to, not just to a program name. That is the opening when you are not presumptive.

The chemicals you were exposed to, and what they cause

Camp Lejeune water carries chemicals that also show up in other exposures. Some conditions they cause are already presumptive for a different program. If you have one of these and you are not presumptive here, you are not stuck. The same science can support a direct service-connection claim, which is exactly what a nexus letter is for.

Also found in: metal-degreasing solvents and the water at Camp Lejeune.

Linked conditions

Kidney cancer
Liver cancer
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Already presumptive under Camp Lejeune. If you were exposed to trichloroethylene (tce) a different way, you do not get that presumption, but a physician can connect these conditions to your exposure with a nexus letter. It is decided case by case, which is why the medical opinion matters.

Source: Trichloroethylene Hazard Summary (EPA)

See if your condition connects →

This shows possible pathways, not a decision on your claim. Whether a condition connects to your exposure is a medical judgment, made case by case. It is not medical or legal advice.

How a nexus letter fits

When a claim is not presumptive, you win it by direct service connection. Under 38 CFR 3.303, that needs three things: a current diagnosis, an in-service exposure, and a medical opinion tying them together.

The opinion has to clear one standard: “at least as likely as not,” a 50% or better chance the condition is tied to service. That comes from the benefit-of-the-doubt rule in 38 U.S.C. 5107(b), carried out in 38 CFR 3.102. The PACT Act goes further: for a non-presumptive condition tied to a qualifying toxic exposure, the VA must order an exam and a medical opinion. That opinion is the nexus, and it is what we write.

See how our nexus letter process works →

Related condition guides

Related exposures

Secondary conditions

A Camp Lejeune cancer can lead to other ratable conditions, including depression. We look for those secondary links too.

Frequently asked questions

Who qualifies for Camp Lejeune VA benefits?

Veterans, Reserve, and Guard members who served at Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River for at least 30 days total between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, and who have one of the eight presumptive conditions.

What are the eight presumptive conditions?

Adult leukemia, aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Parkinson's disease.

Is the Camp Lejeune lawsuit the same as a VA claim?

No. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act lawsuit is a separate legal track handled through the courts, not the VA. This page covers VA disability benefits only. For the lawsuit, talk to an attorney who handles those cases.

My condition is not one of the eight. Can I still claim it?

Possibly, by direct service connection. The same solvents are tied to other conditions in the medical literature. A nexus letter is how you connect one to your service.

I was denied before the presumptive rule. What now?

File a supplemental claim. When a condition becomes presumptive, a past denial can be reopened on the new basis.

Does Patriot Path help with Camp Lejeune claims?

Yes, especially the off-list and denied claims that need a medical opinion. The first consultation is free.

Were you exposed to camp lejeune water?

Let’s figure out your path together. The first consultation is free, and we will tell you straight whether a nexus letter can help your claim.