Citation Nr: 21003992 Decision Date: 01/25/21 Archive Date: 01/25/21 DOCKET NO. 18-38 758A DATE: January 25, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for renal cell carcinoma, right kidney, status post radical nephrectomy, to include as due to contaminated water exposure at Camp Lejeune, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty with the United States Marine Corps from August 1950 to August 1954, and with the United States Air Force from August 1955 to August 1972. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2018 rating decision of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) which denied service connection for renal cell carcinoma, right kidney, status post radical nephrectomy. The Veteran timely filed a notice of disagreement (NOD) and substantive appeal. 1. Entitlement to service connection for renal cell carcinoma, to include as due to contaminated water exposure at Camp Lejeune, is remanded. The Veteran contends that his renal cell carcinoma is due to exposure to contaminated water during his active service at Camp Lejeune. A veteran who served no less than 30 days (consecutive or non-consecutive) at Camp Lejeune between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, is presumed to have been exposed to contaminants in the water supply, absent affirmative evidence to the contrary. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(7)(iii). Contaminants of the Camp Lejeune water supply include trichloroethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE), benzene, and vinyl chloride. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(7)(i). If a veteran, or former reservist or member of the National Guard, was exposed to contaminants in the water supply at Camp Lejeune during military service and the exposure meets the requirements of § 3.307(a)(7), the following diseases shall be service-connected even though there is no record of such disease during service, subject to the rebuttable presumption provisions of § 3.307(d): Service connection may also be granted on a presumptive basis for certain diseases associated with exposure to contaminants (defined as the volatile organic compounds trichloroethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE or PERC), benzene, and vinyl chloride) in the on-base water supply located at Camp Lejeune, even though there is no record of such disease during service, if they manifest to a compensable degree at any time after service at the United States Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and/or Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina, during the period beginning on August 1, 1953, and ending on December 31, 1987. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(7). The following diseases are deemed associated with exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune: kidney cancer, liver cancer, Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, adult leukemia, multiple myeloma, Parkinson’s disease, aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes, and bladder cancer. 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(f). Military personnel records were reviewed and reflect that the Veteran served at Camp Lejeune from April 18, 1952 to March 4, 1953. This time period falls outside the date range for consideration of service connection on a presumptive basis for the aforementioned diseases. Notwithstanding the foregoing presumption provisions for exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, a claimant is not precluded from establishing service connection with proof of direct causation. See 38 U.S.C. § 1113(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303d) (the availability of service connection on a presumptive basis does not preclude consideration of service connection on a direct basis); Combee v. Brown, 34 F.3d 1039, 1042 (Fed. Cir. 1994). In addition, the Veteran submitted an article in March 2018 indicating that the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) had determined that the Marines and Naval personnel residents (including infants and children), and civilian workers were exposed to TCE, PCE, and DCE, vinyl chloride, benzene, and other contaminants in the drinking water at Camp Lejeune from the 1950s through February 1985. The article submitted in March 2018 further reported that for Marines who trained at the Hadnot Point indoor pools from 1950 to 1985, the PCE amounts also exceeded the minimum risk levels (MRLs). The Veteran argues that he was at Camp Lejeune in the 1950s, during which time he trained at the Hadnot Point indoor pools, and he was exposed to the contaminants in the water. See August 2018 VA Form 9. Despite the submission of this evidence, the record does not reflect that the AOJ has attempted to verify the Veteran’s reported exposure to contaminated drinking water during his period of service at Camp Lejeune. Consequently, a remand is warranted to allow the AOJ to take any appropriate steps to attempt to verify the claimed exposure to contaminated water. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. The AOJ should take any appropriate steps to attempt to verify the Veteran's claimed exposure to contaminated water while serving at Camp Lejeune from April 18, 1952 to March 4, 1953. The AOJ should note the following: the Veteran submitted an article in March 2018 indicating that the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) had determined that the Marines and Naval personnel residents (including infants and children), and civilian workers were exposed to TCE, PCE, and DCE, vinyl chloride, benzene, and other contaminants in the drinking water at Camp Lejeune from the 1950s through February 1985; the report from the article submitted in March 2018 that for Marines who trained at the Hadnot Point indoor pools from 1950 to 1985, the PCE amounts also exceeded the minimum risk levels (MRLs); and the Veteran’s contention from his August 2018 VA Form 9 indicating that he trained at the Hadnot Point indoor pools during his service at Camp Lejeune. 2. After the above development, and any additionally indicated development, has been completed, readjudicate the issue on appeal. K.C. SPRAGINS Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Laroche, N. 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.