More than 546,500 claims have been filed to the US Navy for compensation concerning toxic water damage at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Reuters reported on Wednesday citing a court filing.

Toxic chemicals were initially discovered in the North Carolina base's water supply back in 1982, resulting in approximately one million developing kidney and bladder cancer, and leukemia between 1953 and 1987 from the contamination. 

Plaintiffs are eligible to receive compensation if the administrative claims were filed by August 10, the deadline set by the Camp Lejeune Justice Act which was signed into the legislation two years ago. 

The half-a-million claims are expected to either increase or decrease by "a few thousand" after the Navy removes duplicate claims, asserting its commitment "to resolving every valid CLJA claim as fairly and expeditiously as possible.” 

Over 2,000 lawsuits have been filed in the North Carolina federal court by plaintiffs whose claims have not been administratively resolved. However, the first trials may only begin next year with only around 150 cases having been resolved through the administrative process as of the beginning of August, the Navy revealed in the filing. 

In the case where all the administrative claims are taken to trial, the Camp Lejeune water case may mark the largest damage claims since the 3M earplugs scandal which has been described as the "largest multidistrict litigation" in history, Reuters reported.

3M gives in to $10.3bln settlement over water contamination lawsuit

Earlier in June last year, the multinational conglomerate, 3M, settled a $10.3 billion mass lawsuit filed by US cities and towns impacted by contaminated water due to chemicals released from a production facility belonging to the company.

The "forever chemicals" settlement in the per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) case, which polluted the region's drinking water, will be paid over 13 years.

Pollutants known as "forever chemicals" do not degrade in the environment, and accumulate instead in the body.

3M did not admit liability in the case at the time but pledged to stop using "forever chemicals" by the end of 2025 after several probes and thousands of lawsuits targeted the firm, including that from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

The company added that it will provide "funding for public water suppliers (PWS) nationwide that have detected PFAS in drinking water, as well as for eligible PWS that may detect PFAS at any level in the future."

Mike Roman, Chairman and CEO of 3M, called the agreement "an important step forward" that puts forward the firm's commitment to "exit all PFAS manufacturing."