More than half a million people have sought compensation from the US military for damages caused by contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Reuters has revealed.
Dangerous chemicals were first discovered in the water supply of the North Carolina facility in 1982. According to the US government, the contaminated water may have affected an estimated million people with conditions such as kidney cancer, bladder cancer and leukemia between 1953 and 1987.
The US Navy has received more than 546,500 claims for compensation, Reuters reported on Wednesday citing a court filing. The number could go up or down by “a few thousand” after the Navy goes over the claims to remove duplicates.