Citation Nr: 21008896 Decision Date: 02/18/21 Archive Date: 02/18/21 DOCKET NO. 17-14 163A DATE: February 18, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for colon cancer, to include as due to environmental and chemical exposures is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps from March 1998 to March 2002. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2015 determination by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Entitlement to service connection for colon cancer, to include as due to environmental and chemical exposures is remanded. The Veteran asserts that her colon cancer is related to military service. Specifically, she contends that while stationed at Fort McClellan, she was exposed to chemicals during her training and duties which ultimately caused her colon cancer. See i.e. June 2016 VAMC Problem List (“carcinoma of colon…Onset: 2012”); January 2021 Attorney brief (“served at Fort McClellan from June 1998 to October 1998…crawling through dirt, sleeping in fields…consumed water…asserts exposure to herbicide agents and/or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)”). The Veteran has submitted numerous documents related to her assertion of exposure to toxins during her service at Fort McClellan. These documents include, an October 2018 report by Dr. Mathers., who described herself as a "weed scientist," which narrates the use of toxins such as dioxins at Fort McClellan. Dr. Mathers considers it is more likely than not that those serving at Fort McClellan between 1974 and 1976 were exposed to herbicide agent chemicals such as agent 2, 4-D; 2,4,5-T; and Picloram, and cacodylic acid. As discussed above, the Veteran in this case served at Fort McClellan. While the Veteran did not serve at Fort McClellan until 1998, her attorney also submitted a report on chemical exposure at the base which included findings more contemporaneous with her service. See August 2013 Combined Environmental Exposure Report for Fort McClellan Alabama. This report references a Department of Defense study that noted that a chemical storage building at Fort McClellan burned down in March 1989 consuming chemicals such as 2,4-D and Tordon 101. The report states that as late as 1990, 2,4-D was found in the ground soil where the storage building had stood. The report notes that in 1998, soil samples from the base were contaminated with 2,4,5-T and other chemicals including TCDD, which is a component of Agent Orange. Additionally, the report describes Fort McClellan’s prior usage as the home of the U.S. Army Chemical School where training exercises allegedly included “nerve agents, mustard and BZ…authorized for reaction exercises.” The report concludes with long list of potentially carcinogenic chemical agents allegedly present at the base and in the surrounding groundwater in addition to TCDD, including elevated benzene levels discovered in 1991, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from unreported spills, trichloroethene (TCE) in landfill groundwater, and radioactive isotopes of Cobalt and Cesium due to radiological training at the base with a noted isolated incident of underground ionized radiation contamination occurring in 1984. It does not appear that the Agency of Original Jurisdiction considered the above-referenced August 2013 study. See i.e. June 2015 Rating Decision; see also July 2016 Statement of the Case. Therefore, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction should undertake efforts to attempt to verify the Veteran's claimed exposures while at Fort McClellan, in light of the studies and the descriptions of her experiences at the base. The Board further notes that the Veteran has never been afforded a VA examination or obtained a medical opinion to assess whether her colon cancer was at least as likely as not caused by her active service, to include any chemical/radiological and or toxic exposures at Fort McClellan. This should be accomplished. McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). The matters are REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Undertake development to obtain any records available to verify if the Veteran's duties exposed her to chemical/radiological and or toxins while stationed at Fort McClellan. The following records should be reviewed in determining whether the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents or other contaminants: (a.) the August 2013 Combined Environmental Exposure Report for Fort McClellan Alabama; (b.) The Veteran's statements, including the Affidavits dated May 31, 2017 and August 3, 2020, providing that she believes she sustained herbicide agent/chemical exposure through field drills in local vegetation; (c). Document labeled Third Party Correspondence, Evidence/Argument of Counsel, received January 2021 and dated January 15, 2021. If more details are needed, contact the Veteran to request the information. The Agency of Original Jurisdiction should conduct any additional action necessary for independent verification of the Veteran's purported exposures, to include follow-up action or the submission of additional requests for information to any other appropriate entity. All requests and responses received should be associated with the Veteran's claims folder. If the search for corroborating information and/or records leads to negative results, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction should notify the Veteran and her representative and afford them the opportunity to respond. If there is still insufficient information to verify exposure, issue a Formal Finding outlining the steps taken to assist the Veteran and notify the Veteran of VA's inability to verify the in-service exposures. 2. Thereafter, obtain an opinion by an appropriate clinician to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran’s colon cancer. The clinician is asked to render an opinion as to whether the Veteran's colon cancer is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury or disease (including toxic exposure). The clinician’s opinion must include a discussion of the etiological relationship between her particular type of colon cancer and how it relates, if at all, to potential exposure to the herbicide/chemical/ and radiological toxins identified in the August 2013 Environmental Study, the October 2018 Dr. Mathers report; and other documentation submitted by the Veteran; to include specifically discussing the relationship between colon cancer and such materials as: - TCDD, - Benzene; - polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); - trichloroethene (TCE); - radioactive isotopes Cobalt and Cesium; The clinician is asked to provide the underlying reasons for all opinions expressed, and is reminded that the term "as likely as not" does not mean "within the realm of medical possibility," but rather that the evidence of record is so evenly divided that, in the clinician’s opinion, it is as medically sound to find in favor of the proposition as against it. In formulating the opinion the clinician is to fully consider all relevant evidence of record, to include citations to the lay statements of the Veteran describing her experiences such as drinking local water, eating local vegetables, and weeding local vegetation and how such actions would relate to the particular types of exposure alleged. 3. Readjudicate the claim. M. E. KILCOYNE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Marcus J. Colicelli 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.