Located in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, the military base was built in 1943 and is still active today as a U.S. Navy military base. In 1919, the future President Franklin Roosevelt visited the town where the military base was going to be established and expressed a liking for the area. Because the territorial rights of Puerto Rico belong to our country, this made it achievable for our government to build a military base there. Nevertheless, it was only when Nazi Germany began invading European countries that the decision to set up the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station was made. As is the case of over 700 other military bases throughout the United States, there are PFAS lurking in the environment of Roosevelt Roads Naval Station.
In 2004, Carl Axel Soderberg, director of the Environmental Protection Agency for the Caribbean region, found that nearly 500 acres of the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station were contaminated. Furthermore, he said that parts of the ammunition used by the U.S. Navy were discovered in one of the 18 contaminated areas. At the moment, the agency continues the cleanup endeavors on the military base.
One of the most prevalent contaminants on Roosevelt Roads Naval Station are PFAS, a group of toxic chemicals that can lead to the occurrence of numerous awful health problems if they are present in high concentrations in the blood. The source of these chemicals on the military base was the employment of AFFF, a fire suppressant that efficiently puts out jet fuel and petroleum fires, by military firefighters and trainees. PFAS are very dangerous both for the environment and for our health, as they are frequently called "forever chemicals". This means that, once they are released by the use of AFFF, they do not break down and pollute the environment indeterminately.
Nonetheless, there are other hazardous agents lurking on Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, which the Environmental Protection Agency is also striving to remove, such as:
The existence of these additional toxic agents on the premises of Roosevelt Roads Naval Station only worsens the degree of toxic exposure people who are stationed there experience. Regrettably, toxic exposure is inevitable if you spend time on a contaminated military base, and it may greatly endanger your life, particularly if your stay was longer than several months. For this reason, we advise everyone who was stationed at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station to pay close attention to their health and to undergo regular medical examinations, as they are prone to developing serious diseases.
Occurring through inhalation and ingestion, PFAS exposure can lead to the development of numerous awful diseases over the years, the most serious, as well as life-threatening, being cancer. Cancer that is the result of exposure to PFAS can grow on various organs and tissues in the body, depending on where the largest amount of these chemicals is. Here is the list of health problems PFAS exposure can cause, as well as the diagnoses for which you can file a claim to recover compensation:
Since 1990, our skilled legal team has been pursuing compensation for victims of toxic exposure, including members of the military and their families. If you were assigned a diagnosis that has a strong connection with PFAS exposure, you should give us a call since we have the necessary expertise to help you file a claim for toxic exposure. After we evaluate your circumstances, in a 10-minute phone call and you meet all eligibility criteria a skilled PFAS attorney will begin preparing your claim for submission.
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*No fees unless compensation is obtained