thedrifter
08-09-07, 07:25 AM
Published: Aug 09, 2007 12:30 AM
Modified: Aug 09, 2007 02:27 AM
Lejeune water study unfinished
Base ex-residents angry at CDC
Greg Bluestein, The Associated Press
ATLANTA - Federal scientists said Wednesday they could be months away from wrapping up a long-awaited study on whether contaminated water affected children at Camp Lejeune.
Hundreds of thousands of residents of the North Carolina Marine Corps base may have been exposed to the tainted water supply over a 30-year span.
The news was little solace to members of a panel representing the former residents, who blasted government officials through a daylong meeting at a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meeting in Atlanta.
"Nothing is happening here," said a frustrated Terry Dyer, who has a litany of health problems from living for 15 years on the base, where her father was a school principal.
"I'm tired of coming here," she said. "I'm tired of time away from my family. I'm tired of not knowing from day to day whether I'm going to die. I don't want to waste this time here because I want to be with my family."
The government study is considered likely to influence the Pentagon's response to at least 850 pending legal claims by former residents of the Marine base. Claimants say their families were afflicted by the water before the tainted wells were shut off in the mid-1980s.
But the study can't be completed until a complex water modeling project tracking the contaminants' spread is completed, which could take another six weeks, scientists said.
Another study that would determine the water's impact on adults could begin late next year, but hinges first on a feasibility assessment that should be finished before the year's end, said Dr. Frank Bove, a senior epidemiologist with the CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
"These studies have not been easy," said Bove, who asked the group to be patient. "And the future studies will take time, too."
At least 120,000 people lived in family housing that may have been affected starting as far back as 1957, plus uncounted civilian workers and Marines in barracks, according to Marine Corps figures. Federal lawmakers have said as many as 1 million people living and working at the base may have been exposed to contaminated drinking water.
About 56,000 Marines, family members and civilians now live or work at Camp Lejeune. The base's water meets current federal standards.
Marine Corps officials have said Camp Lejeune followed environmental rules in effect at the time, saying the drinking water was "consistent with industry practices at the time."
The former residents hope to keep ramping up the pressure.
Ellie
Modified: Aug 09, 2007 02:27 AM
Lejeune water study unfinished
Base ex-residents angry at CDC
Greg Bluestein, The Associated Press
ATLANTA - Federal scientists said Wednesday they could be months away from wrapping up a long-awaited study on whether contaminated water affected children at Camp Lejeune.
Hundreds of thousands of residents of the North Carolina Marine Corps base may have been exposed to the tainted water supply over a 30-year span.
The news was little solace to members of a panel representing the former residents, who blasted government officials through a daylong meeting at a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meeting in Atlanta.
"Nothing is happening here," said a frustrated Terry Dyer, who has a litany of health problems from living for 15 years on the base, where her father was a school principal.
"I'm tired of coming here," she said. "I'm tired of time away from my family. I'm tired of not knowing from day to day whether I'm going to die. I don't want to waste this time here because I want to be with my family."
The government study is considered likely to influence the Pentagon's response to at least 850 pending legal claims by former residents of the Marine base. Claimants say their families were afflicted by the water before the tainted wells were shut off in the mid-1980s.
But the study can't be completed until a complex water modeling project tracking the contaminants' spread is completed, which could take another six weeks, scientists said.
Another study that would determine the water's impact on adults could begin late next year, but hinges first on a feasibility assessment that should be finished before the year's end, said Dr. Frank Bove, a senior epidemiologist with the CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
"These studies have not been easy," said Bove, who asked the group to be patient. "And the future studies will take time, too."
At least 120,000 people lived in family housing that may have been affected starting as far back as 1957, plus uncounted civilian workers and Marines in barracks, according to Marine Corps figures. Federal lawmakers have said as many as 1 million people living and working at the base may have been exposed to contaminated drinking water.
About 56,000 Marines, family members and civilians now live or work at Camp Lejeune. The base's water meets current federal standards.
Marine Corps officials have said Camp Lejeune followed environmental rules in effect at the time, saying the drinking water was "consistent with industry practices at the time."
The former residents hope to keep ramping up the pressure.
Ellie