Veterans Affairs’ New Zealand has recognised that
Parkinson’s is linked to a toxic solvent used within the
Navy, both on ships and on shore, and will now be paying
disability compensation.
The Royal New Zealand Navy
used a number of chemical solvents on ships beginning in at
least the 1950s. Among the chemical solvents was
trichloroethylene (TCE), which is thought to be among the
most damaging to human health, with links to a number of
adverse health effects including Parkinson’s.
In
the 1970s Parkinson’s New Zealand member George*
(George’s name has been changed to protect his
confidentiality) served on a Royal New Zealand Navy ship.
Decades later, he is living with Parkinson’s, and
Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand has recognised there is a
connection.
In a landmark decision, Veterans’
Affairs New Zealand has agreed to provide George with an
entitlement to disability compensation for Parkinson’s, a
condition that is attributed to his operational service on a
Royal New Zealand Navy ship during the Malayan
Emergency.
The link between exposure to the chemical
solvent TCE and Parkinson’s has been recognised by the US
Department of Veterans Affairs, but George’s case is the
only known case in which this link has been recognised.
The recognition from Veterans Affairs’ New Zealand
that disabilities stemming from Parkinson’s can be
attributed to exposures to TCE means that George will be
entitled to receive disability compensation.
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