El Toro Marine Dead from Chemical Exposure

VA agrees that Marine’s death was caused by exposure to Agent Orange and benzene at MCAS El Toro. Marine’s widow awarded Dependent Indemnity Compensation (DIC) from the VA.

Courtesy: U.S. Navy, MCAS El Toro

(IRVINE, Calif.) - A Marine veteran’s widow was awarded compensation for the death of her husband from progressive small lymphocytic lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) caused by exposure to burnings at four landfills on former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California. The Marine had been stationed at El Toro from August 1968 to April 1971 during which time he worked as an air freight man and drove a truck. He wore a gas mask and protective shoes during this time. He died in April 2008.

A July 2008 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Waco, Texas denied entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Marine’s death.  However, the VA Board of Veterans’ Appeal on May 10, 2010 ruled in favor of the veteran.  The name of the veteran was redacted from the Board of Veterans’ Appeal website.

The Marine served on  active duty service from October 1966 to October 1970.  He did not serve in Vietnam.

El Toro is on the National Priority List (EPA Superfund). Trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) were two organic solvents used on the base as degreasers for aircraft parts for decades.  These chemicals and other contaminants were found in the base’s soil and groundwater.  Activities at the base generated harmful waste and pain residues, hydraulic fluids, batteries and other waste into the soil and grounds from several past operations.

There were four landfills located on the base which burned solid waste, oil, paint residues, flammable fluids, jet fluid, industrial solvents, aviation gasoline and other liquids into the air.

The VA found that the El Toro 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.

According to the VA, ”it was more likely than not that the Veteran’s leukemia and lymphoma were caused from this in-service chemical exposure at El Toro MCAS during his transport of hazardous materials and his exposure to pollution from landfill burnings.” 

The immediate cause of the Marine’s death was respiratory insufficiency, progressive small lymphocytic lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).  Other significant conditions which contributed to the his death included chronic kidney disease, chronic anemia, diabetes, Agent Orange exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), hemiparesis and arthritis aneurysm by history.

Activities at the base “generated harmful waste and pain residues, hydraulic fluids, batteries and other waste into the soil and grounds from several past operations”.  There were also four landfills located on the base which burned solid waste, oil, paint residues, flammable fluids, jet fluid, industrial solvents, aviation gasoline and other liquids into the air.

In 1990, El Toro was included on the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Priorities list of hazardous waste sites requiring cleanup.  The base was on the 1993 BRAC hit list, closed in 1999, and most of the property sold at a public auction in 2005.

The VA reported that one base landfill had been used beginning in the late 1960s and accepted waste including waste oils, hydraulic fluids, paint residues, transformers, solvents, construction debris, batteries and municipal waste.  A second base landfill operated during the late 1960s and accepted burnable trash, municipal solid waste, unspecified fuels, oils, solvents, cleaning fluids, scrap metals and paint residues.  Burning was performed to reduce waste volume at this landfill.  Two other base landfills were operational during time periods other than when the Veteran served at El Toro MCAS.  During the 1960s, waste oils were directly applied to the ground for dust control in one area.

The Marine served at El Toro for more than one year and worked in Air Freight Operations.  His death certificate indicated that his causes of death included CLL and small lymphocytic lymphoma.  The October 2009 opinion from the Veteran’s treating VA physician, the only competent medical opinion of record, establishes a nexus between the Veteran’s cause of death and his service.  This opinion is buttressed by the April 1991 CDC report which confirmed the burning of hazardous materials at base landfills during the Veteran’s service at El Toro.

The VA noted that all the elements for the “grant of service connection for the Veteran’s cause of death have been demonstrated.”  Based on this finding, 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 medals, and radionuclide.

A number of El Toro veterans reported serious illnesses linked to exposure on the former base.  Veterans can access useful information about the base’s contamination at  3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, MCAS El Toro.  This website provides information to Marines and their dependents who lived and worked at MCAS El Toro of the contaminants in the soil and groundwater and the health effects of exposure to these contaminants.