In addition to calling the story infuriating, she says:
This is travesty. People who are willing to give their lives for their country deserve better. At the very least, they should be guaranteed a certain quality of life that includes safe drinking water.
As a result of Tuesday’s press and hearing, we’ve received a number of emails from affected Marines and their families, all asking the same question: How can I learn more?
As we’ve posted previously, at least two websites have emerged that are run by former Camp Lejeune marines and their families:
Also, the attorneys at Anderson Weber & Pangia have agreed to represent exposure victims and their families in a lawsuit against the responsible parties. Certainly, they know much more about the situation. (Note: Those of you who arrived here looking for information about the Camp Lejeune class action lawsuit should contact them.)
Of course, the ATSDR maintains a Camp Lejeune website with answers to Frequently Asked Questions and the Marines have their own website as well (note: As of this posting, it appears the Marines website is offline – maybe too much CL traffic?).
In addition, we’ve been covering developments in the CL story for the past two years now. You can read our entire history of Camp Lejeune posts here (click link, keep scrolling down).
Finally, in case these links don’t provide the necessary information, we are attempting to determine who is best positioned to field specific questions about CL and the water contamination there. We will either report back here, or email privately to those folks who have contacted us. To be alerted when we determine a better point of contact for Camp Lejeune information, please feel free to contact us directly.
June 14, 2007 Update: For folks looking to complete a Form 95 or looking for assistance with it, please see here.
The former residents, who together seek nearly $4 billion, believe their families were afflicted by water containing industrial solvents before the Marines shut off the bad wells in the mid-1980s.
The government Tuesday disclosed results from a new study the same day lawmakers listened to emotional testimony from families about cancers and other illnesses they blame on tainted tap water at the sprawling base.
The Camp Lejeune hearing begins tomorrow. You can watch/listen via webcast here. It appears the witness list for the hearing has been revised. The updated witness list includes:
Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Hearing on Contaminated Drinking Water at Camp Lejeune
The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing
on Tuesday, June 12, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2322 Rayburn House
Office Building. The hearing is entitled Poisoned Patriots:
Contaminated Drinking Water at Camp Lejeune.
The purpose of this hearing is to examine issues arising from the
extensive, high-level contamination of drinking water at U.S. Marine
Corps Base Camp Lejeune. This is the first of a series of hearings the
Subcommittee plans to hold on environmental problems at Department of
Defense (DOD) facilities.
The hearing will include testimony from former Marine Corps residents
of Camp Lejeune who, along with their families, drank the contaminated
water, cooked their food in it, and bathed in it. The Subcommittee
will also receive testimony from the Government agencies involved in
dealing with the contamination, assessing the adverse health effects,
and investigating allegations of criminal violations of Federal law,
including the Marine Corps, the Department of the Navy, ATSDR, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Government
Accountability Office (GAO).
Recently we have been advised of new contact information for the law firm that is serving as national legal counsel for claims arising from water contamination and exposure to VOC’s at Camp Lejeune:
Anderson Weber & Pangia, PLLC
Offices in Washington, DC and Greensboro, North Carolina
On May 11, 2007, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a controversial 75-page report entitled: Defense Health Care: Activities Related to Past Drinking Water Contamination at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (GAO-07-276). While we intend to dig further into the report and discuss it here in the future, here is the official GAO summary (emphasis added by us):
In the early 1980s, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were discovered in
some of the water systems serving housing areas on Marine Corps Base
Camp Lejeune. Exposure to certain VOCs may cause adverse health effects,
including cancer. In 1999, the Department of Health and Human Services’
(HHS) Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) began a
study to examine whether individuals who were exposed in utero to the
contaminated drinking water are more likely to have developed certain
childhood cancers or birth defects. ATSDR has projected a December 2007
completion date for the study. The National Defense Authorization Act of
Fiscal Year 2005 required GAO to report on past drinking water
contamination and related health effects at Camp Lejeune. In this report
GAO describes (1) efforts to identify and address the past
contamination, (2) activities resulting from concerns about possible
adverse health effects and government actions related to the past
contamination, and (3) the design of the current ATSDR study, including
the study’s population, time frame, selected health effects, and the
reasonableness of the projected completion date. GAO reviewed documents,
interviewed officials and former residents, and contracted with the
National Academy of Sciences to convene an expert panel to assess the
design of the current ATSDR study.
Efforts to identify and address the past drinking water contamination at
Camp Lejeune began in the 1980s, when Navy water testing at Camp Lejeune
detected VOCs in some base water systems. In 1982 and 1983, continued
testing identified two VOCs–trichloroethylene (TCE), a metal degreaser,
and tetrachloroethylene (PCE), a dry cleaning solvent–in two water
systems that served base housing areas, Hadnot Point and Tarawa Terrace.
In 1984 and 1985 a Navy environmental program identified VOCs, such as
TCE and PCE, in some of the individual wells serving the Hadnot Point
and Tarawa Terrace water systems. Ten wells were subsequently removed
from service. Department of Defense (DOD) and North Carolina officials
concluded that on- and off-base sources were likely to have caused the
contamination. It has not been determined when contamination at Hadnot
Point began. ATSDR has estimated that well contamination at Tarawa
Terrace from an off-base dry cleaner began as early as 1957. Activities
related to concerns about possible adverse health effects began in 1991,
when ATSDR initiated a public health assessment evaluating the possible
health risks from exposure to the contaminated drinking water. The
health assessment was followed by two health studies, one of which is
ongoing. While ATSDR did not always receive requested funding and
experienced delays in receiving information from DOD for its Camp
Lejeune-related work, ATSDR officials said this has not significantly
delayed their work. Former residents and employees have filed about 750
claims against the federal government. Additionally, three federal
inquiries into issues related to the contamination have been
conducted–one by a Marine Corps-chartered panel and two by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Members of the expert panel that
the National Academy of Sciences convened generally agreed that many
parameters of ATSDR’s current study are appropriate, including the study
population, the exposure time frame, and the selected health effects.
ATSDR’s study is examining whether individuals who were exposed in utero
to the contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune between 1968 and 1985
were more likely to have specific birth defects or childhood cancers
than those not exposed. DOD, EPA, and HHS provided technical comments on
a draft of this report, which GAO incorporated where appropriate. Three
members of an ATSDR community assistance panel for Camp Lejeune provided
oral comments on issues such as other VOCs that have been detected at
Camp Lejeune, and compensation, health benefits, and additional
notification for former residents. GAO focused its review on TCE and PCE
because they were identified by ATSDR as the chemicals of primary
concern. GAO’s report notes that other VOCs were detected. GAO
incorporated the panel members’ comments where appropriate, but some
issues were beyond the scope of this report.
For the original summary, see here.
To download the full report in PDF format, click here.
Yesterday, we received this announcement (Acrobat reader required) about the first Congressional Investigation and Oversight hearings regarding Camp Lejeune next Tuesday, June 12, 2007:
(click the image to enlarge)
We are told the meeting will be open to the public (Photo ID may be required. Bring yours just in case). We are also told that there may be a
big story on the way from the Associated Press this weekend. We’ll try to keep you posted…
The National Research Council has vindicated victims of one of the
Defense Department’s worst environmental problems. An expert panel of
NRC scientists reported that trichloroethylene, the most common water
contaminant in America, is more dangerous than earlier thought.
Today’s report warned that the powerful solvent is a serious public
health threat that needs stronger regulation from the Environmental
Protection Agency.
“We need a new drinking water standard now, with no more delays,” said
Jerry Ensminger, a retired Marine drill instructor whose 9-year-old
daughter Janey [pictured in original article] died of leukemia in 1985 after
exposure to TCE in the water at Camp Lejeune.
[...]
The question now is whether the EPA will adopt the NRC recommendations
and issue a final risk assessment for TCE, the first step toward
tightening the drinking water limit for the chemical.
“I am skeptical about what this administration will do with these
recommendations,” said retired Marine Ensminger.
He told the NRC panel last year that it made no sense that the DOD,
with more than 1,400 sites tainted by TCE, was allowed by the White
House to challenge EPA’s risk assessment.
“Here we have the EPA that was created by the government to protect
our environment and our citizens from pollution being second-guessed
by the world’s largest polluter, the U.S. Department of Defense!” he
told the panel.
Those looking for help filing a Form 95 claim can find it at this recently launched website, Form95help.com
From the website:
Welcome to Form95Help.com, designed to offer you information and assistance with filing a claim for injury, death or potential future illnesses that may have been caused by being exposed to the toxic water at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Anyone, whether you were in the military or not and regardless of whether you lived on the base, should file a claim to protect your interest if you were exposed to the highly toxic waters of camp Lejeune prior to 1986. You can also file a claim on behalf of a relative who died and had any illness related to the contaminated waters of Camp Lejeune.
Your claim must be filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) if you intend on seeking money damages. The first step is to complete and file a properly completed Form 95 claim. Form 95 claims are routinely denied on all sorts of technical grounds so it is extremely important that you have your claim reviewed by an attorney. This review can take place even if you have already filed a claim to see if any amendments need to be made. Failure to file a Form 95 in a timely manner will bar you from seeking damages against the United States Military.
Remember, never settle a case without having it reviewed by an experienced FTCA lawyer. There is no dollar limitation on liability under the FTCA and once you agree to settle your claim, your claim is over even if the amount you received was unfair.
Note: As we reported previously, if you are looking for legal advice regarding exposure to contaminants at Camp Lejeune, Anderson Weber & Henry (now known as Anderson Weber & Pangia) has announced that they are proud to serve as national legal counsel for claims arising from possible water contamination at Camp Lejeune.
June 2007 update: We have been advised of new contact information for the law firm. We’ve noted the name change above to reflect the current status. Though the website links above are still live, the firm’s official name and contact information have changed as follows:
Anderson Weber & Pangia, PLLC
Offices in Washington, DC and Greensboro, North Carolina
Capitol Hill has become a second home to Jerry Ensminger. The retired marine drill sergeant says he’s still fighting for the rights of Americans.
Ensminger: “The Marine Corps has a motto — ‘Semper Fidelis.’ That’s Latin for always faithful.”
But Ensminger and the Marine Corps are now pitted against each other.
Ensminger: “Unfortunately, I found out not only do they not live up to their motto. They won’t take care of their own unless you force them to.”
The battle is over water — water that was contaminated at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The bad wells were shut down by early 1985. The problem came from a dry cleaning chemical called tetrachloroethylene and a metal degreaser called trichloroethylene.
Simms: “We wanted to visit Camp Lejeune. Our request was denied. The Marine Corps says the contamination has been widely publicized since 1984 when it was discovered and it’s an old story. But Ensminger and others couldn’t disagree more.”
They believe thousands of people could now be ill and Ensminger wants the Marine Corps to admit there’s a link. He’s trying to force the Corps to notify thousands of people who lived or worked at the base between 1968 and 1985. And he says the Department of Veterans Affairs should be providing health benefits to people like Nick Geiger of Baltimore.
Geiger: “I just feel like I’m getting kicked in the teeth by the government I served… They’re waiting for us to either get fed up with it and go away or gradually die off so they don’t have to pay the claims.”
Ensminger: “I swore I’m not going to let these people get away with this… When you pat me in the face with a shovel and blow taps over me. I said that’s when I’ll stop this fight or until you do what’s right.”
We recently pointed readers to an earlier article, claiming that this amendment included health care provisions for impacted families. By way of TFTPTF, we learn from Malcolm D. Woolf, Minority Counsel to Senator James M. Jeffords, that the health care benefits provision was in a separate amendment and did NOT pass the Senate.
Meanwhile, the text of the second amendment, which DID pass and which includes study and widespread notification requirements follows:
SEC. 352. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY ON HUMAN EXPOSURE TO CONTAMINATED DRINKING WATER AT CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA.
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.
(1) IN GENERAL. Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Navy shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a comprehensive review and evaluation of the available scientific and medical evidence regarding associations between pre-natal, child, and adult exposure to drinking water contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) at Camp Lejeune North Carolina, as well as other pre-natal, child, and adult exposures to levels of trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene similar to those experienced at Camp Lejeune, and birth defects or diseases and any other adverse health effects.
(2) ELEMENTS. In conducting the review and evaluation, the Academy shall review ,and summarize the scientific and medical evidence and assess the strength of that evidence in establishing a link or association between exposure to trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene and each birth defect or disease suspected to be associated with such exposure. For each birth defect or disease reviewed, the Academy shall determine, to the extent practicable with available scientific and medical data, whether—
(A) a statistical association with such contaminant exposures exists; and
(B) there exist plausible biological mechanisms or other evidence of a causal relationship between contaminant exposures and the defect or disease.
(3) SCOPE OF REVIEW. In conducting the review and evaluation, the Academy shall include a review and evaluation of–
(A) the toxicologic and epidemiologic literature on adverse health effects of trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene, including epidemiologic and risk assessment reports government agencies;
(B) recent literature reviews by the National Research Council, Institute of Medicine, and other groups;
(C) the completed and on-going Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry (ATSDR) studies on potential trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene exposure at Camp Lejeune; and
(D) published meta-analyses,
(4) PEER REVIEW. The Academy shall obtain the peer review of the report prepared as a result of the review and evaluation under applicable Academy procedures.
(5) SUBMITTAL The Academy shall submit the report prepared as a result of the review and evaluation to the Secretary and Congress not later than 18 months after entering into the agreement for the review and evaluation under paragraph (1).
(b) NOTICE ON EXPOSURE
(1) NOTICE REQUIRED. Upon completion of the current epidemiological study by the Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry, known as the Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds in Drinking Water and Specific Birth Defects and Childhood Cancers, United States Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune North Carolina, the Commandant of the Marine Corps shall take appropriate actions, including the use of national media such as newspapers, television, and the Internet, to notify former Camp Lejeune residents and employees who may have been exposed to drinking water impacted by trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene of the results of the study.
(2) ELEMENTS. The information provided by the Commandant of the Marine Corps under paragraph (1) shall be prepared in conjunction with the Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry and shall include a description of sources of additional information relating to such exposure, including, but not be limited to, the following:
(A) A description of the events resulting in exposure to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejuene.
(B) A description of the duration and extent of the contamination of drinking water at Camp Lejeune.
(C) The known and suspected health effects of exposure to the drinking water impacted by trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene at Camp Lejeune.
According to this report in the Jacksonville Daily News (NC):
The amendment still must survive a conference negotiation between Senate and House members and then must be signed into law by President Bush.
Update: Over at The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten, Malcolm D. Woolf, Minority Counsel to Senator James M. Jeffords, tells folks [emphasis added]:
Several folks have asked me about next steps. A thank-you note to Greg Riels of Dole’s staff might be a good idea. Without Dole’s support, the provision would not have been enacted by the Senate. Equally important, Dole will need to strongly support the provision to prevent it from being removed in conference with the House. You might also consider contacting the “conferees” from the Senate and House that will meet to reconcile the competing versions of the bill. They have not yet been named, so keep searching in Google News so you don’t miss it.
This news just came across our plate (Thanks D.). Though we have several days of news to catch you up on, we’re starting here. Following is Senator Jim Jefford’s press statement:
Dole, Jeffords’ Camp Lejeune Amendment Passes Senate in DOD Bill
WASHINGTON, DC — An amendment to support military families who were potentially exposed to highly contaminated water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina was approved today as part of the 2007 Defense Authorization Act, which passed the Senate 96-0. The amendment was authored by Senators Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., and Jim Jeffords, I-Vt.
The amendment will help those exposed to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune Marine base, which closed the contaminated wells in 1985. The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has found that at least 100 babies exposed in utero to the contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune suffered birth defects and cancers, including spina bifida, leukemia and cleft palates.
The Dole-Jeffords amendment requires a comprehensive National Academy of Sciences study to be completed within 18 months to evaluate the strength of the link between TCE and PCE exposure and adverse health impacts for pre-natal, childhood and adult exposures at Camp Lejeune. In 2004, Jeffords called for an investigation of the contamination, and for full notification of those affected.
The amendment also requires the Marine Corps to notify those potentially affected by the contamination so they can learn what happened, how it may have affected them, and what steps they may consider taking now to minimize the potential health impacts.
“I am hopeful that this study will provide the information these families need to answer questions that have lingered for far too long,” said Jeffords, the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “This is the minimum that our government should be doing to address the grievous failure on the part of the Marine Corps to adequately protect its service members and their families.”
According to this earlier article, the amendment also extends veterans health-care benefits to children whose mothers were exposed while pregnant to the TCE and PCE-contaminated water.
Congratulations to all who helped make this happen.
SKYLAND — Work is slated to begin next week cleaning up contamination on the former CTS plant site in south Buncombe County.
The work comes almost seven years after neighbors first discovered an oily liquid contaminating a spring near the plant.
“All we want to do is try to put this behind us,” said Dot Rice, who lives near the property.
Work to clean up the site is scheduled to begin Tuesday, said David Andrews, on-scene coordinator and chemist for the Environmental Protection Agency.
Neighbors of the former industrial switches manufacturing plant on Mills Gap Road discovered the oily liquid in the summer of 1999. State environmental officials did tests and found one well and two springs on neighboring properties were contaminated with trichloroethylene, a chlorinated solvent used to clean metal.
The video of the 2nd meeting of the Camp Lejeune Community Advisory Panel (CAP), held April 20, 2006, is available here thanks to ATSDR: Part 1, Part 2 (Real Media Player required.)
See here for previous transcript and video of 1st CAP meeting.
Update: In our haste to get readers a direct link to the story, we left out a few important details. Let us correct that now. According to the report linked above from The Daily News (Jacksonville, NC)…and also carried here by The Sun Journal (New Bern, NC):
The results were initially provided by ATSDR as part of the recent Community Assistance Panel (CAP) meeting in Atlanta on April 20th.
There is no known current contamination problem.
Between 1968 and 1985, levels of PCE (tetrachloroethylene) in one part of the water system reached an average of 66 ppb and a maximum of 177 ppb. [note: current EPA safety limit/action level for PCE in drinking water is 5ppb. Though the 5ppb standard was not in place during 1968-1985, it is worth noting that the levels reported here are 13-35 times the EPA’s safty limit for this known carcinogen.
ATSDR and the CAP are both hoping to create an Internet tool that will allow someone to put in their address aboard the base at a certain time and learn what level of contaminants they may have been exposed to. This is likely another year or two away, at least.
The CAP will hold a teleconference in July and another meeting in September. Both will be observable by the public.
The first Camp Lejeune community assistance panel (CAP) meeting was held on February 1, 2006. The ATSDR has these meeting minutes [PDF, 392KB] available for download. Or you can watch the recorded video online*: Part 1, Part 2.
