Update: Camp Lejeune Historic Drinking Water Report

 

Update: Camp Lejeune Historic Drinking Water Report

On December 4, 2013 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's (ATSDR) "Evaluation of exposure to contaminated drinking water and specific birth defects and childhood cancers at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina: a case--control study" was published (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/update.html). You will receive a hard copy of the ATSDR fact sheet summarizing the results of this study in the mail in the coming weeks.

 

ATSDR's study evaluated whether or not maternal exposures to drinking water containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at Camp Lejeune increased the risk of certain health conditions. The study used ATSDR's previous water modeling efforts to estimate past exposures (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/watermodeling.html). VOCs were commonly used as solvents for cleaning machinery and weapons, for dry cleaning, and some are found in fuels.

 

This study is the first of several health initiatives that ATSDR is expected to complete in the next several years. For more information about these studies, visit http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/ or call:  (800) 232-4636 .

 

Since 1991, the Marine Corps has supported the health initiatives conducted by various scientific agencies. We are also working diligently to identify and notify individuals who, in the past, may have been exposed to the chemicals in drinking water. For more information about these efforts or to update your contact information, please see: http://www.marines.mil/clwater/, call:  (877) 261-9782  or e-mail clwater@usmc.mil.

 

For the complete report and for information about studies being conducted by ATSDR, visit http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/ or call:  (800) 232-4636 .

 

To contact Veterans Affairs to learn more about health care benefits, please visit http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/camp-lejeune/ or call  Error! Filename not specified.(877) 222-8387  (Healthcare) or  call:  (800) 827-1000 

The Camp Lejeune Historic Drinking Water Program


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Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Cover-Up Hinted In Navy Letter

Government watchdogs and environmental advocates said they interpret the letter as further evidence of a Navy effort to evade culpability for what many call the worst and largest drinking water contamination in U.S. history. 

As part of its research, the disease registry must map the entire water system on the base, past and present. And for the findings to be credible, the registry must release all of the information, so other scientists can review or replicate the results. The Navy's pressure could stymie that effort.

Ensminger and other advocates said they are concerned that the letter represents another maneuver by the Navy to cover up its actions and inactions, and to delay justice for the estimated 1 million Marines and family members who were exposed to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune over 30-odd years.

Legislation is currently pending in the House and Senate that seeks to provide healthcare to Camp Lejeune residents suffering as a result of exposure to the contaminated drinking water. The Senate bill passed the Committee on Veterans' Affairs over the summer and awaits further action. Legislators are on the hunt for offsets to cover its $340 million price. The House version of the bill, named after Janey Ensminger, has yet to move out of committee.

Ensminger called Camp Lejeunethe "tip of the iceberg." With over 130 contaminated military sites around the country, he said, "that makes the DOD the nation's largest polluter."

The Navy letter to the disease registry "is completely ignoring the new law on the books," said Angela Canterbury, director of public policy for the nonpartisan Project On Government Oversight. "The Navy, the department being investigated by the agency, is requesting that information be broadly withheld without specific authority under the law.

"This smacks of coercion," Canterbury added.

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