thedrifter
08-26-07, 09:25 AM
Troubled waters at Camp Lejeune: An Overview
By Amanda Greene
Staff Writer
amanda.greene@starnewsonline.com
From 1957 to 1987, civilians, Marines and residents drank, cooked with, bathed in and swam in water contaminated by industrial solvents at Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base in Jacksonville. In a statement e-mailed to the Star-News, the Marines acknowledge the contamination occurred but said it is reserving judgment on the possible health effects until a national Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry study is complete in 2008.
Here's an overview of the issue, which has attracted the attention of national lawmakers and health agencies:
The water: Some of the wells at Camp Lejeune were contaminated by trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and dichloroethylene (DCE). These chemicals, believed by researchers to be possible carcinogens, were used as dry-cleaning solutions or as solvents to dissolve grease or other compounds. Leaking underground storage tanks, spills and drum disposal - along with solvent-disposal practices by a nearby dry cleaner - led to the contamination.
Contaminants were found in two of the eight water systems supplying Camp Lejeune: the Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point water systems, which served housing, schools, swimming pools and other buildings on the military base. By 1987, the Marines had shut down those systems. According to the Marine Corps, the water now meets federal standards.
The worries: Families who lived or worked on the base tell stories of miscarriages, birth defects, childhood leukemia and rare cancers they believe were caused by their exposure to the contaminated water. Former residents of Camp Lejeune have organized to bring the issue to the public, meeting with politicians and building Web sites such as Tftptf.com (The Few, the Proud, the Forgotten) and
Watersurvivors.com, Wilmington resident Terry Dyer's Web site. Dyer, for example, blames the water contaminants for the frequent rashes, eye infections, coughs and colds that her family suffered while living on the base as civilians for 15 years.
It's estimated that between 300,000 and 1 million people could have been affected by contamination.
The science: No scientific studies about the chemicals and their health effects on the Camp Lejeune population are complete, though the chemicals in question have been linked to childhood leukemia, neural tube defects, and liver, kidney and lung cancers. A study by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the environmental health arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, is in its final stages to determine if the chemicals caused health problems in children born on the base. The study is expected to be completed by spring.
According to the Marine Corps statement, "The study findings will provide a scientific basis to inform potentially-exposed individuals as to whether or not they may have a higher risk for the medical conditions studied."
No studies on the broader population are yet under way. Proving a specific connection to individuals and their health problems will be extremely difficult, researchers say.
Legal action: The U.S. Marine Corps is accepting claims against the government based on the water contamination at Camp Lejeune. So far, about 900 former residents of the base have filed official claims, seeking more than $4 billion in damages. According to Department of the Navy officials, about 475 claims are from North Carolina residents, while about 25 are from Virginia residents and five are from South Carolina residents.
One law firm investigating many of the claims is Anderson, Weber & Pangia in Greensboro. None of the firm's cases have yet been brought to court. Jeff Weber, one of the lead Greensboro lawyers on the case, said he hopes to keep it that way.
"Litigation is something of last resort. If Congress can step in and fashion a remedy, then it will help," he said.
For information on official claim forms, call the Navy Judge Advocate General's office at (202) 685-5921. Important information is also available at www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr. In particular, 32 C.F.R. & 750.27 discusses documents required in support of claims.
Political action: The civilian and legal pushes for legislation on the issue have caused two hearings on the subject with the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., has sponsored four bills on the Camp Lejeune issue, asking for further studies of the effect of the contaminants on the Lejeune population and for the notification of all former residents of the base from 1957 to 1987.
What's next: The Star-News will sponsor the first major public forum on the issue at 7 p.m. Friday at Kenan Auditorium on the campus of the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
The Marine Corps has opened an information hotline and e-mail for inquiries from civilians, families and former Marines at clwater@usmc.mil, or call (877) 261-9782.
The National Research Council in Washington, D.C., has formed a committee to investigate the water contamination at Camp Lejeune. Its first meeting will be Sept. 24.
Amanda Greene: 343-2365
amanda.greene@starnewsonline.com
Ellie
By Amanda Greene
Staff Writer
amanda.greene@starnewsonline.com
From 1957 to 1987, civilians, Marines and residents drank, cooked with, bathed in and swam in water contaminated by industrial solvents at Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base in Jacksonville. In a statement e-mailed to the Star-News, the Marines acknowledge the contamination occurred but said it is reserving judgment on the possible health effects until a national Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry study is complete in 2008.
Here's an overview of the issue, which has attracted the attention of national lawmakers and health agencies:
The water: Some of the wells at Camp Lejeune were contaminated by trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and dichloroethylene (DCE). These chemicals, believed by researchers to be possible carcinogens, were used as dry-cleaning solutions or as solvents to dissolve grease or other compounds. Leaking underground storage tanks, spills and drum disposal - along with solvent-disposal practices by a nearby dry cleaner - led to the contamination.
Contaminants were found in two of the eight water systems supplying Camp Lejeune: the Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point water systems, which served housing, schools, swimming pools and other buildings on the military base. By 1987, the Marines had shut down those systems. According to the Marine Corps, the water now meets federal standards.
The worries: Families who lived or worked on the base tell stories of miscarriages, birth defects, childhood leukemia and rare cancers they believe were caused by their exposure to the contaminated water. Former residents of Camp Lejeune have organized to bring the issue to the public, meeting with politicians and building Web sites such as Tftptf.com (The Few, the Proud, the Forgotten) and
Watersurvivors.com, Wilmington resident Terry Dyer's Web site. Dyer, for example, blames the water contaminants for the frequent rashes, eye infections, coughs and colds that her family suffered while living on the base as civilians for 15 years.
It's estimated that between 300,000 and 1 million people could have been affected by contamination.
The science: No scientific studies about the chemicals and their health effects on the Camp Lejeune population are complete, though the chemicals in question have been linked to childhood leukemia, neural tube defects, and liver, kidney and lung cancers. A study by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the environmental health arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, is in its final stages to determine if the chemicals caused health problems in children born on the base. The study is expected to be completed by spring.
According to the Marine Corps statement, "The study findings will provide a scientific basis to inform potentially-exposed individuals as to whether or not they may have a higher risk for the medical conditions studied."
No studies on the broader population are yet under way. Proving a specific connection to individuals and their health problems will be extremely difficult, researchers say.
Legal action: The U.S. Marine Corps is accepting claims against the government based on the water contamination at Camp Lejeune. So far, about 900 former residents of the base have filed official claims, seeking more than $4 billion in damages. According to Department of the Navy officials, about 475 claims are from North Carolina residents, while about 25 are from Virginia residents and five are from South Carolina residents.
One law firm investigating many of the claims is Anderson, Weber & Pangia in Greensboro. None of the firm's cases have yet been brought to court. Jeff Weber, one of the lead Greensboro lawyers on the case, said he hopes to keep it that way.
"Litigation is something of last resort. If Congress can step in and fashion a remedy, then it will help," he said.
For information on official claim forms, call the Navy Judge Advocate General's office at (202) 685-5921. Important information is also available at www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr. In particular, 32 C.F.R. & 750.27 discusses documents required in support of claims.
Political action: The civilian and legal pushes for legislation on the issue have caused two hearings on the subject with the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., has sponsored four bills on the Camp Lejeune issue, asking for further studies of the effect of the contaminants on the Lejeune population and for the notification of all former residents of the base from 1957 to 1987.
What's next: The Star-News will sponsor the first major public forum on the issue at 7 p.m. Friday at Kenan Auditorium on the campus of the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
The Marine Corps has opened an information hotline and e-mail for inquiries from civilians, families and former Marines at clwater@usmc.mil, or call (877) 261-9782.
The National Research Council in Washington, D.C., has formed a committee to investigate the water contamination at Camp Lejeune. Its first meeting will be Sept. 24.
Amanda Greene: 343-2365
amanda.greene@starnewsonline.com
Ellie