Between 1953 and 1987, as many as one million Marines, family members, and civilian workers at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina drank and bathed in water contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals. The contamination went undetected for decades, and even after warning signs appeared in the early 1980s, years passed before the worst wells were shut down. It stands as one of the largest drinking water contamination incidents in American history.
What Was in the Water
The two primary contaminants were industrial solvents: trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE). Both are volatile organic compounds used widely in degreasing, dry cleaning, and industrial maintenance. At their worst, TCE levels in Camp Lejeune’s drinking water reached 1,400 parts per billion. The current federal safety limit is 5 parts per billion, meaning the water contained roughly 280 times the level now considered safe. PCE peaked at 215 parts per billion, about 43 times today’s limit.
Other volatile organic compounds were also present in the water supply, but TCE and PCE were the contaminants of greatest concern due to their concentrations and known links to serious disease.
Where the Chemicals Came From
The contamination had both on-base and off-base sources, and it poisoned two separate water systems serving different parts of the installation.
The Hadnot Point water system, which served barracks and family housing in the main area of the base, was contaminated primarily with TCE. The sources were multiple: leaking underground fuel storage tanks, industrial spills, and improper disposal of solvents used in equipment maintenance. The base’s own operations were the problem.
The Tarawa Terrace water system, which served a family housing area, was contaminated with PCE. That chemical seeped into the groundwater from ABC One-Hour Cleaners, a small family-owned dry-cleaning business that operated just outside the base from 1964 to 2005. The business used PCE as its primary cleaning solvent and improperly disposed of it through a septic tank system. PCE was also buried in the soil outside the building. Over the years, these disposal practices allowed the chemical to migrate through the ground and into the wells that supplied drinking water to military families living in Tarawa Terrace.
How Long It Took to Find the Problem
The contamination likely began in the 1950s, but nobody was testing for these chemicals at the time. Federal drinking water regulations didn’t even address volatile organic compounds until the mid-1980s.
The first sign of trouble came in October 1980, when a Navy official collected water samples from all eight of Camp Lejeune’s water treatment plants and sent them to a private lab. The initial goal was to test for a different class of chemicals called trihalomethanes, standard byproducts of water treatment. A follow-up sample drawn in October 1981 produced confusing results: readings for trihalomethanes were obscured by high concentrations of one or more unidentified volatile organic compounds. Something unexpected was in the water, but pinpointing it took more time.
By May 1982, testing confirmed TCE at 1,400 parts per billion in the Hadnot Point system. Yet the contaminated wells were not removed from service until late 1984. Ten wells were taken offline between November 30, 1984, and February 8, 1985, after more comprehensive testing in July 1984 confirmed the scope of the problem. It was not until 1987 that the contaminated wells at both Hadnot Point and Tarawa Terrace were permanently closed.
That gap, from early detection to final well closures, meant that people continued drinking contaminated water for years after the military had evidence something was wrong.
Who Was Exposed
An estimated one million people were exposed over the 34-year period. That number includes active-duty Marines and other service members stationed at the base, their spouses and children living in on-base housing, and civilian employees who worked there. Exposure came not just from drinking the water but from cooking with it, bathing in it, and using it for laundry. Pregnant women and young children living in base housing were among those affected, which is particularly significant because developing fetuses and infants are more vulnerable to toxic chemicals.
How These Chemicals Harm the Body
Once ingested, TCE and PCE don’t simply pass through. The body breaks them down through a series of metabolic steps, and several of the resulting byproducts are chemically reactive. These byproducts can bind to DNA and proteins, damaging genetic material in ways that can trigger cancer. The kidney is especially vulnerable because it processes some of these toxic byproducts directly, creating reactive compounds right in the tissue itself.
This isn’t a matter of a single large dose causing immediate illness. The danger at Camp Lejeune was chronic, low-level exposure over months or years. People stationed at the base for a typical two- or three-year tour drank this water daily, and the cumulative effect of that exposure is what drove cancer risk upward.
Diseases Linked to the Contamination
Federal health agencies have studied the exposed population for decades, looking at cancer rates, birth defects, and chronic illness. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry investigated specific birth defects including neural tube defects, cleft lip, and cleft palate among children born to mothers who lived on base. Childhood cancers, particularly leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, were also studied, along with a range of adult cancers and chronic diseases.
Based on the evidence, the Department of Veterans Affairs now recognizes eight conditions as presumptively connected to Camp Lejeune water exposure, meaning veterans don’t need to prove the water caused their illness to qualify for disability benefits:
- Adult leukemia
- Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes
- Bladder cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Liver cancer
- Multiple myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Parkinson’s disease
The presence of Parkinson’s disease on this list is notable because it signals that the contamination’s effects extended well beyond cancer. The presumptive list covers Veterans, Reservists, and National Guard members who were exposed to the contaminated water between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987.
Legal Recognition and Compensation
For decades, people who got sick after living or working at Camp Lejeune had limited legal options. North Carolina’s statute of limitations and federal sovereign immunity protections made it extremely difficult to sue the government. That changed in 2022 with the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, which gave affected individuals a direct legal path to seek compensation.
Under the law, anyone who resided or worked at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days during the contamination period and later developed a qualifying injury can file a claim with the Department of the Navy. If the claim is denied, or if six months pass without resolution, the claimant can file a federal lawsuit. The Department of Justice has established an expedited process for certain categories of claims, with settlement offers that expire after 60 days.
The 30-day minimum is a low threshold by design. Even relatively short stays at the base during the contamination period meant daily exposure to chemicals at concentrations far exceeding safe levels. For the hundreds of thousands of people who spent years there, the cumulative exposure was substantial, and the health consequences have taken decades to fully emerge.