The story
Camp Lejeune in North Carolina was supposed to be home — a place where Marines lived with their families. Instead, for over three decades, everyone on base was unknowingly drinking water laced with industrial solvents, benzene, and other carcinogens. The contamination came from leaking fuel tanks, industrial spills, and a nearby dry cleaner.
The Marine Corps discovered the problem in 1982 but didn't shut down the worst wells until 1985 — and didn't fully inform residents for years after that. Hundreds of thousands of people were exposed: the Marines themselves, their spouses who did laundry and cooked with the water, their children who bathed in it, and babies who were exposed in the womb. Many developed cancers, Parkinson's disease, and other serious conditions decades later.
In 2022, after years of being blocked from suing the government, the Camp Lejeune Justice Act finally gave victims the right to file claims. Over 400,000 have come forward.