Camp Lejeune Background
U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
was established in 1942. In 1982, the Marine Corps discovered
specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the drinking
water provided by two of the eight water treatment plants
on base.
Water from the Tarawa Terrace Treatment Plant was
contaminated by PCE (perchloroethylene or tetrachloroethylene).
The source of the contamination was the waste disposal
practices at ABC One-Hour Cleaners, an off-base dry
cleaning firm. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR) modeled the contamination and determined
that the Tarawa Terrace system had PCE levels that exceeded
the current standard of 5 micrograms per liter (μg/L)
for 346 months between November 1957 and February 1987.
(Note: 1 μg/L of a drinking water contaminant is equivalent
to 1 part per billion or ppb) The most contaminated
wells were shut down in February 1985.
Water from the Hadnot Point Treatment Plant was contaminated
primarily by TCE (trichloroethylene). Other contaminants
in the drinking water included DCE (t-1,2-dichloroethylene),
PCE and benzene. The system was contaminated by multiple
sources: leaking underground storage tanks, industrial
area spills, and waste disposal sites. ATSDR is currently
modeling the Hadnot Point system.
Additional details
on the water contamination situation at Camp Lejeune
are available.
Health effects of exposures to these drinking water
contaminants are uncertain. Most available information
comes from animal studies or studies of workers who
use these chemicals in their workplace. Very few studies
have been conducted of people exposed to these chemicals
in their drinking water.
ATSDR has been assessing the effects of exposure
to drinking water containing VOCs since 1993. ATSDR
activities include the
1998
Study on Volatile Organic Compounds in Drinking Water
and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes and a
telephone interview of parents of children who were
carried or conceived at Camp Lejeune during 1968-1985.
In addition, the current study, titled "Exposure
to Volatile Organic Compounds in Drinking Water and
Specific Birth Defects and Childhood Cancers at United
States Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina,"
began in Spring 2005.
ATSDR is planning to conduct a mortality study, a
cancer incidence study, and a health questionnaire survey
of active duty personnel, dependents, and civilian employees
who were at the base during the period of drinking water
contamination. Information on these proposed studies
can be found in the report:
An
Assessment of the Feasibility of Conducting Future Epidemiological
Studies at USMC Base Camp Lejeune [PDF, 822KB]
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