For decades, hundreds of military facilities across the US, where thousands of active-duty service members and their dependents lived and worked, have been contaminated with hazardous toxic chemicals from military waste, such as fluorinated compounds, heavy metals, fuel hydrocarbons, and radioactive materials.
It is believed that these toxins may likely be associated with the risk of birth defects, the risk of developing certain cancers or may adversely affect the neurological development of children and the reproductive processes of humans and animals. They may also induce inflammation, processes that could adversely affect kidney function. For example, exposure to PFOS and PFOA, the highly toxic main active ingredients in Class B foams the military has been using for decades, increases the risk of developing kidney cancer by 50%.
A lot has already been written about the dangers of PFOS and PFOA, and we already know about the many military facilities where water supply systems were found to be contaminated with PFAS that exceed the EPA's health advisory and the thousands of service members and military families who got sick as a result.
Today, contamination is known and confirmed at hundreds of sites and military bases, including:
If you are wondering if PFAS can cause kidney cancer, it is worth noting that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as possible human carcinogens based on epidemiological evidence.
Scientific studies have provided strong evidence that certain PFAS likely have adverse effects on our health at vanishingly low levels of exposure.
Previous studies have reported that exposure to PFAS significantly increases the risk for kidney cancer in populations highly exposed through their work or by living in areas with significant environmental contamination. Individuals at the greatest risk of harm from AFFF are firefighters, civilians, and military personnel who use it, and those living on or near military bases that used the firefighting foams made with the toxic chemicals.
Researchers found that the relationship between exposure to PFOA and PFOS and adverse kidney health persisted among patients diagnosed eight or more years after initial blood collection.
This association was also observed among individuals with normal kidney function, indicating that the link between PFAS and kidney cancer risk is independent of potential effects related to compromised kidney function.
Kidney cancer is cancer that most often begins in the lining of the tiny tubes in the kidney. The most common type of kidney cancer is renal cell carcinoma, making up about 90% of all diagnoses.
In addition to performing a physical exam, and obtaining laboratory tests, your physician may ask for additional information with respect to your work history in order to evaluate potential chemical exposure.
In addition to PFAS, there were other toxic agents found to lurk at hundreds of military sites, which greatly endangered the health of military residents and their family members living with them:
There are many former or current military members whose life-threatening health conditions and legitimate worries about their families' health hang like a cloud of uncertainty over their futures.
If you were stationed at one of the above-mentioned military installations as a veteran or as a family member of one and came to struggle with kidney cancer, our case managers can help you check if you meet the eligibility requirements for a legal claim.
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