Citation Nr: 21000960 Decision Date: 01/06/21 Archive Date: 01/06/21 DOCKET NO. 16-10 996 DATE: January 6, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for bladder cancer as due to exposure to herbicide agents in service is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. It is reasonably shown that while serving in Thailand from July 1972 to July 1973 and from August 1974 to June 1975, the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents. 2. The Veteran has a diagnosis of bladder cancer. CONCLUSION OF LAW Service connection for bladder cancer is warranted. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1116(a)(2), 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.307, 3.309(e). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The appellant is a Veteran who served on active duty from March 1970 to August 1977. This case is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2016 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rating decision. In February 2019, a videoconference hearing was held before the undersigned. In June 2019, the case was remanded for further development. Service connection for bladder cancer is granted. The Veteran claims that his bladder cancer (diagnosed in 2015) is due to his exposure to herbicide agents while serving in Thailand. Service department records show that his military occupational specialty (MOS) was bomb navigation systems mechanic/technician, and that his service included two tours of duty in Thailand, from July 1972 to July 1973 and from August 1974 to June 1975. A June 2019 Board decision (which granted service connection for type 2 diabetes mellitus), found that the circumstances of the Veteran’s duties in Thailand regularly placed him at or near the perimeter where there was known use of herbicide agents and conceded he was exposed to herbicide agents in service. Service connection may be granted for disability due to disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active military service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.304. Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. To substantiate a claim of service connection, there must be evidence of: (1) a present disability; (2) incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury in service; and (3) a causal relationship between the claimed disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004). The determination as to whether these requirements are met is based on analysis of all the evidence of record and an evaluation of its credibility and probative value. Baldwin v. West, 13 Vet. App. 1 (1999); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Prior to the enactment of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), bladder cancer was not listed as one of the diseases that may be presumed to be service connected as due to exposure to herbicide agents if manifested in a Veteran who served in Vietnam during the Vietnam Era. See 38 U.S.C. § 1116; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309(e). However, the 2021 NDAA (enacted January 1, 2021over presidential veto) has added three disorders to the list of diseases presumptively associated with exposure to herbicide agents. Specifically, it amended 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a)(2) to include parkinsonism, bladder cancer, and hypothyroidism. Additionally, the presumptive provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 1116 have been extended to encompass Veterans shown to have been otherwise exposed to tactical herbicides in service, including while serving in Thailand, or on the DMZ in Korea. The record shows that the Veteran served in Thailand during the Vietnam Era, and his exposure to herbicide agents in service has been conceded. He has a diagnosis of bladder cancer. Based on facts found, he is now entitled to consideration of his claim under the presumptive provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a)(2). All requirements for substantiating his claim of service connection for bladder cancer are met; service connection for bladder cancer is warranted. GEORGE R. SENYK Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Bayles, Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.