VA CLAIM APPROVED
A VA claim filed by the Marine’s widow for service connection as the cause of death of her husband was denied by the Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Waco, Texas.
However, the VA Board of Veterans’ Appeal on May 10, 2010, ruled in favor of the widow. The VA Veterans’ Board of Appeals found that the Marine was exposed to benzene, alkalating agents, aromatic amines, solvents used in chemicals, plastic, rubber, exposure to petroleum products, paint, agricultural chemicals and chemical exposures while on the base. All are known causes of leukemia.
The Marine’s widow was awarded Dependent Indemnity Compensation (DIC) on the basis of service connection as the cause of her husband’s death.
The organic solvent contamination of soil and groundwater at El Toro is shared by many military bases. Millions of dollars were spent in remediation by the Navy. However, like other veterans, no El Toro veteran was notified of the health effects of exposure to organic solvents, toxic metals, and radionuclide.
Marine veterans reported that they sprayed this toxic chemical around the fence lines and other areas to control the growth of vegetation. One of the Marine veterans is a prostate cancer survivor. Prostate cancer is one of the illnesses associated with exposure to dioxin.
These men are now attempting to locate other MAG-11 veterans who sprayed dioxin at El Toro. Any Marine veteran with knowledge of the use of dioxin at El Toro can email me at rodowd@live.com. Your identity will be kept confidential.
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