Lejeune water contamination bill could force EPA to establish public standard

August 10, 2008 - 12:35AM
JENNIFER HLAD
DAILY NEWS STAFF

jhlad@freedomenc.com

A bill prompted by water contamination at Camp Lejeune could force the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a public water standard to limit what Sen. Elizabeth Dole says is the "most widespread industrial water contaminant in America."

The legislation, introduced by the N.C. Republican along with four democratic senators, would require the EPA to establish a health advisory and a national primary drinking water regulation - a legally enforceable standard for public water systems - to limit trichloroethylene (TCE).

Two major drinking water systems at Camp Lejeune were contaminated from the mid-1950s until 1987 by numerous chemicals and compounds, including TCE and tetrachloroethylene, or PCE. The contamination came from spills, on-base underground storage tanks, dumping and an off-base dry cleaner, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

TCE can be found in every state, "including the groundwater at 87 percent of our military installations," Dole said in a written release.

Drinking large amounts of TCE for long periods can cause liver and kidney damage, impaired immune system function and impaired fetal development in pregnant women, according to the ATSDR.

Jerry Ensminger, a retired Marine whose daughter was exposed to the contaminated water in utero and died of leukemia at age 9, said the bill could "protect millions of children in the future" if it is made into law.

"You just can't put a measuring stick on something like this," he said. "This is really big."

The bill was approved recently by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. It now moves to the full Senate for consideration.

Ellie