[BlindVet-Talk] VA’s Rule Establishes a Presumption of Service Connection for Diseases A...

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 From: BlindguysRus1 at aol.com
To: nablindvets at aol.com
Sent: 1/14/2017  7:41:53 A.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj: Fwd: VA’s Rule Establishes a  Presumption of Service Connection for 
Diseases A...





  
____________________________________
 From: Dalene.Renfroe at va.gov
Sent: 1/13/2017 3:47:55 P.M. Eastern Standard  Time
Subj: VA’s Rule Establishes a Presumption of Service Connection for  
Diseases Associated with Exposure to Contaminants in the Water Supply at  Camp 
Lejeune



VA’s  Rule Establishes a Presumption of Service Connection for Diseases 
Associated  with Exposure to Contaminants in the Water Supply at Camp Lejeune   
VA  to provide disability benefits for related diseases  
WASHINGTON  – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has published 
regulations to  establish presumptions for the service connection of eight diseases 
 associated with exposure to contaminants in the water supply at Camp  
Lejeune, N.C. 
The  presumption of service connection applies to active duty, reserve and  
National Guard members who served at Camp Lejeune for a minimum of 30 days  
(cumulative) between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987, and are 
diagnosed  with any of the following conditions: 
•            adult leukemia 
•            aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes 
•            bladder cancer 
•            kidney cancer 
•            liver cancer 
•            multiple myeloma 
•            non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma 
•            Parkinson’s disease 
“We  have a responsibility to take care of those who have served our Nation 
and  have been exposed to harm as a result of that service,” said Secretary 
of  Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald. “Establishing a presumption for 
service  at Camp Lejeune will make it easier for those Veterans to receive the 
care  and benefits they earned.” 
Environmental  health experts in VA’s Technical Workgroup conducted 
comprehensive reviews  of scientific evidence, which included analysis and research 
done by the  Department of Health and Human Service’s Agency for Toxic 
Substances and  Disease Registry (ATSDR), the Environmental Protection Agency, 
the  International Agency for Research on Cancer, the National Toxicology  
Program, and the National Academies of Science.  
Veterans  with 30 or more cumulative days of active duty service, at Camp 
Lejeune  during the contamination period are already eligible for certain 
medical  benefits, following passage of the Honoring America’s Veterans and 
Caring  for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012. 
In  the early 1980s, volatile organic compounds, trichloroethylene (TCE), a 
 metal degreaser, and perchloroethylene (PCE), a dry cleaning agent, as 
well  as benzene and vinyl chloride, were discovered in two on-base water 
supply  systems at Camp Lejeune. The contaminated wells supplying the water 
systems  were shut down in February 1985. 
The  area included in this presumption is all of Camp Lejeune and MCAS New 
River,  including satellite camps and housing areas. 
The  rule will be effective either 60 days after publication in the Federal 
 Register, or following conclusion of the 60-day Congressional Review,  
whichever is later. 
-  See more at:  
http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2853#sthash.aJNok6um.dpuf