The U.S. Marine Corps received warnings about chemical contamination at Camp Lejeune in Florida back in 1980. Water at the base was found to be contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE), benzene, and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but the contaminate wells weren’t shut down until 1985. It is estimated that 1 million Marines and their families were exposed to the toxic chemicals.
Many people who lived on the base during this time have watched spouses, children, parents, and siblings die of cancer, or are currently undergoing cancer treatment now. The contaminated water has been linked to childhood cancer, primarily leukemia, as well as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), brain cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, bladder cancer, and liver cancer in adults. Former residents are livid that the USMC knew about the contamination and covered it up for a long time before they did anything about it,
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