TCE is a highly effective solvent—one of those midcentury wonder chemicals—that vaporizes quickly and dissolves whatever grease it touches. The Navy, which oversees the Marine Corps, first denied the toxic plume’s existence, then refused to admit it could affect Marines’ health. Marines stationed on base had a 35 percent higher risk of developing kidney cancer, a 47 percent higher risk of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a 68 percent higher risk of multiple myeloma. Each revelation, the team thought, represented another nail in the coffin of the genetic theory of Parkinson’s. When Goldman compared both populations, the results were shocking: Marines exposed to TCE at Lejeune were 70 percent more likely to have Parkinson’s than those stationed at Pendleton.