thedrifter
07-11-05, 08:26 AM
Courtesy of Mark aka The Fontman
Camp Lejeune water details trickle
July 11,2005
CHRIS MAZZOLINI
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Kat Littleturtle had heard whispers that there were potential problems with Camp Lejeune's water system from the 1960s to 1985. But the Lumberton resident didn't really have the full story until last month.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, former Marine Charles Luhan Jr. said he'd never heard that the drinking water on base years ago was possibly contaminated with cancer-causing cleaning chemicals.
He knows now.
Like a stone tossed into a lake, last week's publication of expert recommendations concerning the former contamination of the Camp Lejeune water supply rippled outward finding people unaware that any contamination existed. The seven-member independent panel - comprised of toxicologists, epidemiologists and environmental specialists - was formed by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in order to consider further studies into the contamination at the urging of those who claimed to have been affected by bad water, which many residents say caused miscarriages as well as tumors and birth defects among children conceived at Lejeune.
The contamination of Camp Lejeune's water at Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point was caused by dry-cleaning chemicals trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethlyene (PCE). One was from a civilian dry cleaners, the other likely a base underground storage tank. The problem areas were capped in 1985 and no known current contamination exists.
In the wake of last month's report - which recommended that all people potentially exposed to the water be notified, expand its areas of study to include adults and children who lived or worked on base and allow those affected an advisory role - people like Littleturtle and Luhan are the ones that researchers and advocates are waiting to hear from.
And for those who are just realizing that they may have been affected by the water, there is still an opportunity to have their stories heard.
'We hard something'
Littleturtle's family, which lived on base between 1968 and 1970, has suffered a number of problems since. She had a miscarriage in 1971, a few months after moving off base. Her other two children - who were 4 and 2 at the time - have been suffering from multiple sclerosis and both are wheelchair bound. Her third child was born with her hips out of the sockets. Littleturtle herself said one of her ovaries swelled to the size of a soccer ball.
But she never mentally connected it to her family's problems until now. Many former Lejeune residents from that period have reported troubled pregnancies or birth defects among their children.
"We heard something about this a year or so ago," she said. "After we heard about it then, nothing ever came out of it. And then my daughter called me and said, 'You won't believe this article in the paper.' I thought we need to get information about this.
"Now it comes up and they are talking about miscarriages and I had one," she said. "And then you start going, 'Remember that, remember this.'
"You can't help but wonder about what problems you are having because of it," she said. "When you know you have been there that period, and this has all been documented, you start wondering what affects it has had on your family."
Luhan, who was stationed at Camp Lejeune on and off during 1969 and 1970, said that he just found out about the contamination after a friend who lives in Myrtle Beach, S.C., sent him an e-mail. A Vietnam veteran, Luhan said he thinks he and his family have escaped from any possible water contamination, but is still surprised he was never told of the problem.
"So far I've been pretty lucky and so have my kids," he said. "But to find out about it from a friend over the Internet, it's unbelievable."
After hearing about it, he sent an e-mail to 250 Marines that he knows to help spread the word. Luhan said there is no point blaming anyone for the lapse of communication; the best thing now is to deal with it. He thinks further scientific study would be a good idea.
Reinforcements
Terry Dyer, a Wilmington resident who lived in Tarawa Terrace from the late 1950s until the 1970s and who has suffered numerous health maladies she attributes to contaminated water, said people such as Littleturtle and Luhan are living examples of a communication breakdown.
"This is why we've been hammering for four years now that the Marine Corps did not do the kind of job they should of done notifying the residents out there," said Dyer, who formed a group called "The Stand" (Toxic Homefront Empowered Survivors Take All Necessary Defense) in order to advocate for the victims of the contamination.
"I know there have been a lot of articles," she added. "But there is nothing like getting a certified letter through the mail to tell you this."
Dyer said she receives calls, letters and e-mails almost every day from those who feel they or their families may have been affected. Others either stumble over it while researching something else on the Net or find articles about it.
But despite that, she said it still surprises her to find those who don't realize their problems may have been caused by bad water. For example, Dyer was struck by the number of those who didn't know about the contamination when she spoke last weekend at a reunion for Lejeune High School.
Every single new person who finds out is another who can help those who have been suffering, she said.
"So many people said 'What can I do? I want to help. Put me to work.' It was like, 'Oh, God! Reinforcements!' "
More Info...
http://www.watersurvivors.com/
Ellie
Camp Lejeune water details trickle
July 11,2005
CHRIS MAZZOLINI
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Kat Littleturtle had heard whispers that there were potential problems with Camp Lejeune's water system from the 1960s to 1985. But the Lumberton resident didn't really have the full story until last month.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, former Marine Charles Luhan Jr. said he'd never heard that the drinking water on base years ago was possibly contaminated with cancer-causing cleaning chemicals.
He knows now.
Like a stone tossed into a lake, last week's publication of expert recommendations concerning the former contamination of the Camp Lejeune water supply rippled outward finding people unaware that any contamination existed. The seven-member independent panel - comprised of toxicologists, epidemiologists and environmental specialists - was formed by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in order to consider further studies into the contamination at the urging of those who claimed to have been affected by bad water, which many residents say caused miscarriages as well as tumors and birth defects among children conceived at Lejeune.
The contamination of Camp Lejeune's water at Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point was caused by dry-cleaning chemicals trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethlyene (PCE). One was from a civilian dry cleaners, the other likely a base underground storage tank. The problem areas were capped in 1985 and no known current contamination exists.
In the wake of last month's report - which recommended that all people potentially exposed to the water be notified, expand its areas of study to include adults and children who lived or worked on base and allow those affected an advisory role - people like Littleturtle and Luhan are the ones that researchers and advocates are waiting to hear from.
And for those who are just realizing that they may have been affected by the water, there is still an opportunity to have their stories heard.
'We hard something'
Littleturtle's family, which lived on base between 1968 and 1970, has suffered a number of problems since. She had a miscarriage in 1971, a few months after moving off base. Her other two children - who were 4 and 2 at the time - have been suffering from multiple sclerosis and both are wheelchair bound. Her third child was born with her hips out of the sockets. Littleturtle herself said one of her ovaries swelled to the size of a soccer ball.
But she never mentally connected it to her family's problems until now. Many former Lejeune residents from that period have reported troubled pregnancies or birth defects among their children.
"We heard something about this a year or so ago," she said. "After we heard about it then, nothing ever came out of it. And then my daughter called me and said, 'You won't believe this article in the paper.' I thought we need to get information about this.
"Now it comes up and they are talking about miscarriages and I had one," she said. "And then you start going, 'Remember that, remember this.'
"You can't help but wonder about what problems you are having because of it," she said. "When you know you have been there that period, and this has all been documented, you start wondering what affects it has had on your family."
Luhan, who was stationed at Camp Lejeune on and off during 1969 and 1970, said that he just found out about the contamination after a friend who lives in Myrtle Beach, S.C., sent him an e-mail. A Vietnam veteran, Luhan said he thinks he and his family have escaped from any possible water contamination, but is still surprised he was never told of the problem.
"So far I've been pretty lucky and so have my kids," he said. "But to find out about it from a friend over the Internet, it's unbelievable."
After hearing about it, he sent an e-mail to 250 Marines that he knows to help spread the word. Luhan said there is no point blaming anyone for the lapse of communication; the best thing now is to deal with it. He thinks further scientific study would be a good idea.
Reinforcements
Terry Dyer, a Wilmington resident who lived in Tarawa Terrace from the late 1950s until the 1970s and who has suffered numerous health maladies she attributes to contaminated water, said people such as Littleturtle and Luhan are living examples of a communication breakdown.
"This is why we've been hammering for four years now that the Marine Corps did not do the kind of job they should of done notifying the residents out there," said Dyer, who formed a group called "The Stand" (Toxic Homefront Empowered Survivors Take All Necessary Defense) in order to advocate for the victims of the contamination.
"I know there have been a lot of articles," she added. "But there is nothing like getting a certified letter through the mail to tell you this."
Dyer said she receives calls, letters and e-mails almost every day from those who feel they or their families may have been affected. Others either stumble over it while researching something else on the Net or find articles about it.
But despite that, she said it still surprises her to find those who don't realize their problems may have been caused by bad water. For example, Dyer was struck by the number of those who didn't know about the contamination when she spoke last weekend at a reunion for Lejeune High School.
Every single new person who finds out is another who can help those who have been suffering, she said.
"So many people said 'What can I do? I want to help. Put me to work.' It was like, 'Oh, God! Reinforcements!' "
More Info...
http://www.watersurvivors.com/
Ellie