Monday, September 5, 2011

Camp Lejeune - MCAS El Toro: A Few Good Men, Too Many Chemicals



We’re the Veterans of
contaminated land,
No mama, no poppa, no Uncle Sam.
No aunts, no uncles, no nephews, no nieces.
No rifles, no planes, or
artillery pieces.
And nobody gives a damn.

Few Good Men, Too Many Chemicals tells the story of the thousands of veterans, their families and civilian workers at former MCAS El Toro and Camp Lejeune, at one time two of the most hazardous military installations in the U.S. Those who lived and worked on these bases and were exposed to toxic chemicals and other environmental hazards continue to be ignored by the U.S. government, including the over 70 Marine Veterans of Camp Lejeune with male breast cancer, the highest incidence of occurrence of this rare cancer in any other demographic in the U.S.

Camp Lejeune has been labeled as ‘death camp’ for those who drank, showered, and cooked with the contaminated water on the base from 1957 to 1987.

At Camp Lejeune, the contamination of the base wells with organic solvents and benzene is a documented fact. The contamination covered a 30 year period from 1957 until 1987 and may have exposed as many as one million people to toxic chemicals.

The base wells at MCB Camp Lejeune were contaminated with toxic chemicals for 30 years, according to The Subcommittee on Investigations & Oversight of The Committee on Science & Technology, U.S. House of Representatives.

With 130 military installations on the EPA Superfund database, the Defense Department faces a huge potential liability from dependents and civilian workers (the only ones who can file tort suits). This may be the raison d’etre for the Navy and Marine Corps’ refusal to accept responsibility for injuries from Camp Lejeune’s contaminated wells. To do so, may be the proverbial Pandora box, opening the door to many others who were exposed to environmental hazards on 130 military Superfund installations and were injured from these exposures.

For Camp Lejeune, MCAS El Toro and the many military bases on the EPA Superfund list, these are not just examples of one or two drums leaching into the groundwater. For our military, dependents, civilian workers and in many cases those living near these bases, the volume of toxic chemicals in the soil and groundwater posed a serious environmental health risk.
The Source

2 comments:

Kathy Ostman-Magnusen said...

Wow... so terrible. And the list goes on, yet of course Vietnam Vets and the people of Vietnam suffer still as other lists are exposed.

John O said...

Pandora's Box will be opened even if I have to open it myself. Of course, I won't have to because there are one million of us.

There were enough chemicals over (200) at Camp Lejeune to cover many illness associations. They were put into open burn pits or dumped or buried and got into the soil, air and water. Don't be fooled by the fact that that are only really looking at five of them in the water.

Do an internet search for chemicals that can cause your illness. Chances are more than good that if a chemical can cause your issue, it was found at this base.