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The Camp Lejeune water contamination is a well-known environmental disaster that affected countless individuals living or working on the North Carolina military base between 1953 and 1987.

However, the health impacts of the contamination extend beyond the first generation of individuals who were exposed. In recent years, there has been growing concern about the potential health impacts on the second and third generations of those who lived at Camp Lejeune.

This article will explore the lingering effects of Camp Lejeune water contamination on the second and third generations and the challenges they face in seeking compensation for their health problems.

A Brief Overview of the Camp Lejeune Water Contamination

Camp Lejeune is a U.S. Marine Corps base located in North Carolina that was the site of a major environmental disaster involving contaminated drinking water. For decades, the water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated with toxic chemicals, such as perchloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE), which were used in various industrial processes on the base. As a result, thousands of military personnel, their families, and civilian workers suffered exposure to these harmful chemicals, with devastating consequences.

The contamination has been linked to various serious health problems, including various types of cancer, reproductive issues, neurological disorders, and birth defects.

In response, the affected U.S. Marines and their family members have filed a Camp Lejeune lawsuit, seeking compensation for their injuries related to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. The Justice Act was also passed in 2022 by the government to provide medical care and financial compensation to those affected by Camp Lejeune contamination.

According to the law firm, TorHoerman Law, the compensation process for those affected by Camp Lejeune Water Contamination has begun. Those who were exposed are seeking legal representation to help file their claims, and some of the initial claims submitted shortly after the enactment of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act are currently undergoing litigation.

The law firm adds that if the Navy JAG does not validate a person’s claim within six months of submission, the claimant has the option to file a lawsuit in the United States District Court.

The Second Generation

According to LawyersandSettlements.com, a former marine, Patrick, and his wife spent three years at the base, where they were exposed to contaminated water. Patrick was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 55, which later spread to other parts of his body, including his lungs, esophagus, back, hip, and chest.

Similarly, Patrick’s wife was diagnosed with triple-positive HER2 cancer in 2013 and underwent chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. They are now concerned about the health of their adult children.

Studies have linked exposure to toxic water at Camp Lejeune to birth defects, childhood cancers, and other health issues, such as neurological disorders and autoimmune diseases. The lingering effects of the contamination on the second generation highlight the ongoing impact of the disaster and the need for continued research and support for affected individuals and their families.

The Third Generation

While research on the potential health impacts of Camp Lejeune water contamination on the third generation is still emerging, preliminary studies suggest that there may be cause for concern. Some research has suggested that the grandchildren of those who were exposed to the contaminated water may have an increased risk of birth defects, childhood cancers, and other health problems.

However, research in this area still needs to be completed, and more studies are needed to understand the extent and nature of the potential risks. The potential impact on the third generation highlights the ongoing need for research, support, and advocacy for those affected by the Camp Lejeune water contamination.

Possible Mechanisms of Transmission

The mechanisms of transmission of toxic chemicals from the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune to the second and third generations are still being studied, but several potential pathways have been identified. One possible mechanism is prenatal exposure, where toxic chemicals may cross the placenta and affect the developing fetus.

For instance, The Guardian, in its report, states that according to a peer-reviewed study conducted in Denmark, exposure of mothers to toxic PFAS or “forever chemicals” during the early stages of pregnancy can lead to reduced sperm count and quality in their offspring later in life.

The study found that mothers with higher levels of exposure were more likely to raise adult men with lower sperm counts and increased immotile sperm levels, indicating that the sperm does not swim properly. This exposure also increased the number of non-progressive sperm, which can lead to infertility.

Inherited genetic mutations may also play a role, where exposure to toxic chemicals may cause changes to DNA that can be passed down to future generations. Another possible mechanism is through epigenetic changes, which can alter the expression of genes without changing the underlying DNA sequence.

More research is needed to fully understand these mechanisms and their potential impact on the second and third generations.

Challenges in Seeking Compensation

Digital Journal notes that people at Camp Lejeune suffered from cancer, autoimmune conditions, and Parkinson’s disease for nearly thirty years, yet officials did not directly link the illnesses to the base’s drinking supply.

The situation is particularly alarming because the government knew of the issue during the first six years of the water treatment plants’ use, but slow action led to hundreds of cases of toxic contamination. Despite this knowledge, officials took little or no action to address the toxic water contamination at Camp Lejeune.

Second and third-generation individuals who have been impacted by the Camp Lejeune water contamination will likely face even more challenges when seeking compensation for their health problems. Different from their parents or grandparents who lived on the base, they may not have a direct connection to Camp Lejeune, making it difficult to establish their eligibility for compensation.

In addition, there is limited research on the long-term health effects of the contamination on the second and third generations, which can make it challenging to prove the link between the exposure and their health issues. This lack of evidence can also make it difficult to obtain medical treatment and support services.

As a result, affected individuals and their families need to seek out advocacy groups and legal assistance to help navigate these challenges.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the impact of Camp Lejeune water contamination is far-reaching and has affected not only those who lived on the base but also their future generations. The second and third generations have experienced increased risks of various health problems, and research is ongoing to fully understand the extent of the health impacts.

However, seeking compensation for these health problems can be challenging due to lacking a direct connection to the base. More research must be conducted to fully understand the effects of exposure to toxic chemicals on future generations and ensure that support and resources are provided for those affected by the Camp Lejeune water contamination.

Planning a holiday and want to be able to smoke? We don’t blame you! And here’s where to go.

The world is slowly but steadily waking up to the fact that marijuana isn’t a demon, after all. It’s taking longer than it should, but we are getting there. With more and more stoners out there every day, it is becoming imperative that we find countries to visit (or emigrate to) where the weed we smoke isn’t illegal.

Here are some of our top favorite countries for buying weed in, and a reflection over their guidelines.

The Top Countries that Legalized Weed

Before you book that holiday, maybe convince the family to go to one of these awesome locations, instead.

1 – Canada

The best weed marketplace in Canada is arguably online, although there are plenty of dispensaries that will help you out in person. Canada passed a federal Cannabis Act in October of 2018 which formally legalized cultivation and possession of cannabis. Medical cannabis had already been in use for some time.

You cannot provide cannabis to minors or use it and then drive. The Provinces of Canada have the power to regulate use, although it is no longer a criminal offence. You can carry up to 30 grams^[1] of cannabis bud or its equivalent without fear of repercussions. You can learn more about Canada’s cannabis laws, here.

2 – The Netherlands

This is a huge misconception, so we thought we would add it in. Amsterdam and the rest of The Netherlands have a hard stance on drugs. All of them are illegal. Cannabis use is tolerated under exacting circumstances which need to be obeyed to the letter if a premises is to provide weed to customers.

For example, the Amsterdam coffeeshops are not allowed to advertise weed ^[2]and cannot give access to those under 18. The drugs must be used indoors and not outdoors, and they must be used without tobacco to comply with tobacco smoking laws.

3 – (some of) The USA

While the USA is trying its best to progress with a national cannabis law, it is far from legal. Some states have decided to legalize it with differing laws between them. The states where Cannabis is legal, and their brief guidelines are as follows:

• Alaska – legal for recreational use since 2015.
• Arizona – up to one ounce if you are over 21.
• California – 28.5 legal grams per adult aged 21+
• Colorado – you must be over 21 and have ID.
• Connecticut – legal to possess 42.5 grams of marijuana.
• Guam – which isn’t a state but a territory. You can have one ounce or six plants.
• Illinois – recreationally legal in small amounts.
• Maine – 2.5 ounces is legal for adults over 21.
• Massachusetts – 1 ounce of weed or five grams of marijuana.
• Michigan – you can have 2.5 ounces here.
• Montana – you can carry up to an ounce if you are over 21.
• Nevada – Recreational marijuana is legal up to once ounce.
• New Jersey – you can carry 6 ounces or less
• New Mexico – legalized in June 2021 up to two ounces if you are over 21.
• New York – New Yorkers can have 3 ounces on them without being arrested.
• Oregon – the first state to decriminalized small amounts for personal use, recreation is legal here.
• South Dakota – Cannabis is legal for medical and recreational use.
• Vermont – Possession of up to one ounce is no longer illegal since July 2018.
• Virginia – You can possess weed if you are over 21 but without a medical prescription there’s nowhere to buy it.
• Washington – in Washington and DC adults over 21 can by one ounce of bud.
• Washington D.C.^[3]

4 – Uruguay

Uruguay were world leaders in the legalization of cannabis, where pharmacies have been selling recreational cannabis for years. The country legalized weed in 2013 but doesn’t have a lot of growers. Medical hemp and cannabis processing have since become big markets in Uruguay, giving them the commercial boost, much needed from marijuana sales.

Rounding Up

While other countries are in varying stages of deregulation, these are the world leaders who are pioneering the path we will all later walk. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait long.

1. https://www.canada.ca/en/services/health/campaigns/cannabis/canadians.html ↑
2. https://www.holland.com/global/tourism/information/general/dutch-drug-policy.htm ↑
3. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/where-is-marijuana-legal-a-guide-to-marijuana-legalization ↑

Whether you are working for a local paper, a school or uni paper or perhaps even a local news letter, you will no doubt have ran into difficulties when it comes to writing news, and writing in an appropriate style. The fact of the matter here is that writing news is unlikely any other style of writing and there is a certain skill to reporting a news story with accuracy and with emotion.

Someone who knows only too well about how to write in different styles is Roger Wolfson, a fantastic writer who’s talents have taken him from the field of law to hit TV shows like Saving Grace and Fairly Legal, and who has also plied his trade as a columnist for the Huffington Post. When it comes to reporting news, here is what Roger tends to aim for.

Accuracy

It should sound simple enough but the truth is that many reporters will look to add some non-truths in their work to try and make the story sound more shocking or more dramatic. The unfortunate thing is however that as soon as you have been found out for embellishing the truth in one story, it does throw into question the validity of so many others. Keep it factual and you will be just fine.

Read The Situation

The particular voice which you will take will be appropriate for the story, so you should always keep this in mind. If you are writing about a comedic event then long sentences and rich vocabulary is unlikely to bring the story across as it should, and if you are writing about a murder then light hearted, conversational styles are really not going to be the avenue to go down. Have empathy and sensibility when you pic the voice which you are going to use to tell your story.

Reader

All writing should be done with the reader in mind but none more so than when it comes to reporting, after all you are white literally reporting a story from one source to a person or a group of people. It is therefore always important that you have the reader’s interests at heart, that you are centering the story around what helps them best to understand what is going on and that the piece provides them with actual value. Since news has become a real moneymaking empire this is something which has been lost, many people now will churn out stories which actually hold little value, just to get you to click on the page.

Punch

Ultimately, and unless you are writing some kind of op-ed, you need to make your stories sharp, to the point and punchy, this is how you are going to achieve the feat of telling what is likely to be a long story and pack it into a short space. Keep it direct and you’ll be just fine.

Above all else, you must practice as much as you can in order to achieve what you are looking for.

Saint Augustine was a prolific writer, philosopher and theologian who lived from the years 354 to 430 AD. When he was 32 years old, he converted from the pagan religion to Christianity. He was also the Bishop for the city of Hippo and was well known for his knowledge across many subject areas, including politics, metaphysics, ethics and church history.

All in all, Saint Augustine published some 132 works. This vast library influenced leaders and thinkers for years and years to come. As part of a scholarly effort to make his wisdom available to even more people, there are efforts underway to carefully translate all of his writing into English. The Works of Saint Augustine will eventually span some 49 volumes that cover all of the original published works by the noted theologian and philosopher saint.

Quotes from the writings of Saint Augustine still have meaning today. His wisdom is still applicable some 1,600 years after he lived.

The Magic of Travel

More and more people are discovering the mind expanding and life changing importance of traveling and experiencing new places and cultures. Saint Augustine knew the value of travel and said “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” When we travel we expand our horizons and open our minds and hearts to new possibilities and ways of thinking in life.

The Inner Journey in Life

In his book Confessions, Saint Augustine observed that “Men go abroad to admire the heights of mountains, the mighty waves of the sea, the broad tides of rivers, the compass of the ocean, and the circuits of the stars, yet pass over the mystery of themselves without a thought.” His insightful words were a calling to one of life’s great journeys, the journey to the center of one’s self. The Divine mystery is reflected in the beautiful wonder of who we are.

The Paradox of Life

We all struggle at times to overcome the blocks that seem to be holding us back in life. Saint Augustine said “The mind commands the body and is instantly obeyed. The mind commands itself and meets resistance.” Often we are able to clearly see the path others might take in life, and we can share that wisdom with them. For our own journey, however, we often wrestle with how to bypass the resistance so we can move ahead with our life.

Follow Your Bliss

Nearly sixteen centuries ago Saint Augustine wrote that “Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure: where your treasure, there your heart; where your heart, there your happiness”. His wise words were echoed in modern times by Joseph Campbell’s famous directive that one should “Follow your bliss”. When you have the courage to walk your unique path of happiness, the world becomes a truly magical and beautiful place.

The wisdom of Saint Augustine echoes across the ages and brings value to our lives even today. His philosophy and sophisticated understanding of humanity’s very nature is a treasure that informs us even in our modern age.

Scientific testing has improved dramatically over the years, both in terms of accuracy and affordability. Today tests are used for everything from forensic science to product testing that helps keep our society and its consumers safe. It is critically important that we know the truth about all the products that we use.

X-ray Fluorescence, or XRF, has applications across a wide variety of useful analyses. Basically this technology allows you to determine what elements are part of the tested material. An XRF analyzer is used to measure the fluorescence, or secondary, X-ray that is emitted when you use a primary X-ray on the item being tested. These secondary X-rays map out into a sort of ‘fingerprint’ which shows the elements that are present.

XRF is used for testing and research in quite a number of industries. In general the testing is simple, requires very little sample preparation and chemical analysis results are available quickly. The testing instruments are portable which makes sample testing easy.

Soil Surveys

Before using or building on a site, it’s critically important to do a soil analysis. Handheld XRF instruments allow you to sample the soil from many different places within the potential building site. The technology can identify more than 26 elements and 12 priority pollutant metals that would be harmful to public health. There are no lengthy waits for lab results because the testing can be done on site with results available in less than sixty seconds.

Lead in Food Products

Some times XRF testing can be used to help unravel a great mystery. In one such case, it was found that a high number of migrants from Mexico who were living in Monterey, California showed elevated blood levels. Researchers discovered that a probable source of the unhealthy lead levels was from food imported from their home in Oaxaca to the United States.

XRF testing was then used to see if the source of the contamination was from wind-blown dust from mining areas or from food preparation methods that used ceramic cookware. By using XRF, researchers determined that grinding spices in lead-glazed ceramic ware and the acidic addition of lime juice caused the food to be contaminated.

Cement Production

Cement is one of the cornerstone building materials used everywhere, from commercial properties to homes and highways. To maintain cement quality and consistency XRF testing is done as the cement is being produced. X-Ray Fluorescence is used throughout the manufacturing process with testing of raw quarry materials, multiple intermediate products and then the final produced cement.

Toxic Elements Found in Tableware

Ceramic plates are used in many cultures and homes. Unfortunately, some of these may have unsafe elements that are part of the base ceramic material or the glazes that have been applied. XRF testing has been used to discover imported ceramic plates from Mexico that showed the presence of both lead and uranium. Pigment on plates from China were also tested, and at times found to include lead, cobalt and other elements.

X-Ray Fluorescence testing is vital to the health of our consumers and our society. Whether it’s the safety of the cement we use to build our buildings or the plates we use in our homes, XRF is a valuable tool that provides cost-effective and quick results.

When it comes time to discuss broader geopolitical affairs, it can be easy to become desensitized to the issues at hand, particularly if these issues are happening across the ocean. The United States government and the government of Iran have been engaging in verbal and political sparring for the past several years. Led by President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran Nuclear Deal, tensions in the Middle East have been growing increasingly hot. Stepping outside of broader political discussions, however, will reveal that everyday citizens in Iran are being impacted by heavy sanctions. Let’s take a closer look at Iran’s population to understand how the Nuclear Deal, sanctions, and geopolitics are impacting their lives.

With reports indicating President Trump’s willingness to pursue military action against Iran, tensions have been raised to an almost insurmountable level. With that being said, it is the dominant impact of sanctions that has regular Iranian citizens afraid of where their next meal will come from. President Trump promised to implement ‘maximum pressure’ via his sanctions and that has caused utility bills to rise nearly 30% for average, everyday Iranian citizens. Compounding increased utility bills, monthly rent for apartments has doubled and, in some cases, even tripled as a result. The focus of President Trump’s sanctions was on the energy, banking, and shipping sectors. The decision to withdraw from the Iran Nuclear Deal essentially caused a seismic shift in day-to-day life for the people of Iran.

While discussions on the impact of economic sanctions are hard to have in the immediate aftermath of their issuance, there has been a two-year gap since President Trump withdrew America from the multi-group agreement. The resulting inflation of nearly 37% has rained havoc down on people in both rural and urban Iran. To read further about the complexities surrounding Iran, sanctions, and the United States, referring to journalists like Amir Handjani who cover the Middle East daily can be a great place to begin.

On a broader level, the impact that President Trump’s sanctions are having can be hard to quantify. President Trump levied his maximum pressure efforts toward Iran’s reserve of natural gas and crude oil. As you may well know, Iran has the fourth-largest reserve of crude oil on the planet as well as the second-largest reserve of natural gas, falling behind only Russia. Thanks to President Trump’s efforts, Iran’s ability to move their most proven products has been limited. According to financial experts, Iran’s oil industry makes up more than a third of the $80 billion government budget. As the movement of oil slows down, the government of Iran will be forced to cut from social, welfare, and military expenditures.

Despite the sworn statements by the United States that sanctions would not impact the average Iranian citizen, the truth has been anything but. As families scrape together enough money for food while sacrificing in every other facet of their life, the desire for an agreement between the United States and Iran will likely begin to take precedence.