President Biden Signs the Camp Lejeune Justice Act

President Biden has signed the Camp Lejeune Justice Act into law. The CLJA is part of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, better known as the PACT Act. The bill was named after Sgt. 1st Class Heath Robinson, who was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder and lung cancer after serving with the Army National Guard in Kosovo and Iraq, where he experienced prolonged exposure to burn pits. 

The CLJA creates a claim for victims of water contamination at Camp Lejeune. Between 1953 and 1987, over one million military service members and their families were exposed to toxic water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River in North Carolina. The CLJA allows anyone who lived, worked, or served at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days between 1953 and 1987 and suffered injuries or death to bring a claim within 2 years of the signing of the Act.

The water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated with volatile organic compounds, degreasers, chemicals used on heavy machinery, and more than 70 other highly toxic substances. It was used for drinking, cooking, and bathing in family housing, barracks, schools, recreational areas, hospitals, and administrative offices. In some areas, the chemicals were at levels 400 times greater than what safety standards allow, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

Claims can be filed on behalf of those who resided or worked at Camp Lejeune or MCAS New River for at least 30 days from August 1, 1953, to December 31, 1987, and has suffered from one of several serious conditions associated with the toxic water.

Injuries include:

• Parkinson’s Disease 
• Kidney Cancer
• Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
• Leukemia
• Liver Cancer 
• Bladder Cancer
• Multiple Myeloma
• Kidney Disease (End-Stage Renal Disease)
• Renal Toxicity
• Systemic Sclerosis/Scleroderma
• Cardiac Birth Defects
• Esophageal Cancer
• Breast Cancer
• Lung Cancer
• Miscarriage
• Hepatic Steatosis (Fatty Liver Disease)
• Female Infertility
• Non-Cardiac Birth Defects (Eye Defects, Oral Clefts, Neural Tube Defects, Etc.) 
• Cervical Cancer
• Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
• Ovarian Cancer
• Prostate Cancer
• Rectal Cancer
• Brain Cancer