Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina is well known for its contaminated water crisis, but thousands of buildings on the base also contained asbestos materials. Marines, sailors, and civilian workers were exposed to asbestos through deteriorating building materials and renovation work.
Last verified: 2026-03-09Camp Lejeune was established in 1941 and rapidly expanded during World War II. Construction throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s used asbestos extensively in insulation, flooring, and roofing. While the base is most widely known for the water contamination scandal addressed by the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, asbestos exposure represents a separate and significant health concern for personnel stationed there.
Asbestos was present in pipe insulation, floor tiles, ceiling materials, and mechanical systems across hundreds of buildings. Marines living in older barracks were exposed to deteriorating asbestos materials. Maintenance workers and construction crews faced particularly high exposure during renovation and repair projects that disturbed asbestos without proper containment.
The following job categories at Camp Lejeune had the highest risk of asbestos exposure:
Service members stationed at Camp Lejeune have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer linked to asbestos exposure. Combined with the base's documented water contamination, veterans may have faced multiple toxic exposure pathways during their service.
Health information is based on established medical research on asbestos exposure. Asbestos is classified as a known human carcinogen by the National Cancer Institute, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Consult a physician for medical advice specific to your situation.
Workers exposed to asbestos at Camp Lejeune may be entitled to compensation through asbestos trust funds, personal injury lawsuits, or veterans benefits. Mesothelioma patients and their families have recovered billions in compensation from companies that manufactured or used asbestos products.
Find Out If You QualifyWorkers who were employed at Camp Lejeune between 1940s–1980s may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials. If you've been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis, you may have legal options including trust fund claims and lawsuits.
If you were exposed to asbestos at Camp Lejeune and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, these specialized treatment centers in North Carolina may be able to help.
Yes. The Camp Lejeune water contamination and asbestos exposure in buildings are separate issues with different health effects and legal pathways. Asbestos exposure occurred through building materials, not the water supply.
Yes. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act addresses water contamination claims, while asbestos-related diseases can be pursued through VA disability claims and separate asbestos lawsuits. The legal strategies are different for each exposure type.
Virtually all buildings constructed before 1980 at Camp Lejeune potentially contained asbestos materials. This includes barracks, mess halls, administrative buildings, maintenance shops, and family housing units.
No. Missing paperwork is normal after this long, and it is not what decides a claim. A Social Security earnings statement lists every employer you had, by year, and can usually be requested directly. Union records, W-2s and a DD-214 for military service do similar work. Coworkers who were there can also confirm conditions. What matters most is what you remember, written down in your own words.
Yes. A wrongful death claim can be brought by the estate or eligible family members, and it is a separate route from a claim the patient would have brought themselves. It also runs on a different clock: the deadline generally starts at the date of death rather than the date of diagnosis, which means families are sometimes still in time when they assume they are not. Deadlines are set by each state, so confirm the one that applies to yours.
Possibly. Asbestos fibres travelled home on work clothes, in hair and in vehicles, and household members were exposed while washing laundry or greeting someone at the end of a shift. This is called secondhand or take-home exposure and it is a recognised route to a claim in its own right, not an exception. If you are documenting a family member's work history, write down your own contact with their work clothing as well.
You do not need a lawyer, a diagnosis, or a decision to do this. You need a piece of paper. Memory is the part of a claim nobody else can reconstruct for you, and it is the part that fades.
If you are doing this for a relative who has died, write down what you remember too, including work clothes brought home to be washed. Household exposure is a real claim, not an edge case.
That is usually enough to work out which claims are open to you — trust funds, a lawsuit, or VA benefits if the exposure happened in service. You do not need records, dates you are certain of, or the name of a product. If you are asking on behalf of someone who has died, a family member can file and the deadline runs differently. No cost, no obligation, and no pressure to decide anything today.
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