The Camp Lejeune water contamination problem occurred at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, from 1953 to 1987. During that time, United States Marine Corps (USMC) personnel and families at the base — as well as many international, particularly British, assignees — bathed in and ingested tap water contaminated with harmful chemicals at all concentrations from 240 to 3,400 times current safe levels. An undetermined number of former residents later developed cancer or other ailments including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), fatty liver diseases, infertility, and Parkinson's disease, which could be due to the contaminated drinking water. Victims claim that USMC leaders concealed knowledge of the problem and did not act properly to resolve it or notify former residents.
In 2009 the U.S. federal government initiated investigations into the allegations of contaminated water and failures by U.S. Marine officials to act on the issue. In August 2012, President Obama signed the Janey Ensminger Act into law to begin providing medical care for people who may have been affected by the contamination. In February 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune significantly increased the risk of possibly contracting multiple diseases, though they did not say that the water actually caused any disease. The PACT Act of 2022, Sec. 804, is the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022. It provides damages for past injuries from Camp Lejeune toxic exposure. It is the first such law that provides compensation to the civilian family members of veterans stationed at the base as well as those who came onto the base for work.
Contamination Early reports From August 1, 1953 through December 31, 1987 (sometimes from January 1, 1950 through December 31, 1985), Marines and personnel of any branch of the armed forces and their families stationed at Camp Lejeune's main base, barracks, family, temporary housing, Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point may have consumed or bathed in water contaminated with hazardous chemicals at concentrations from 240 to 3400 times levels permitted by regulatory standards. As a result, at least 850 former residents filed claims for nearly $4 billion from the military. The contamination appears to have affected the water from two of the eight water wells on the base.Altman, Howard (January 16, 2011). "Lejeune Water Haunts Marines", Tampa Tribune, p. 1. The main chemicals involved were volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as perchloroethylene (PCE), a dry cleaning solvent, and trichloroethylene (TCE), a degreaser; however, more than 70 chemicals have been identified as contaminants at Lejeune. The base's wells were shut off in the mid-1980s, after which the water met federal standards, then they were placed back online in violation of the law. The National Research Council of the National Academies released a report based upon a literature review of PCE and TCE in July 2009. The report failed to assess other contaminants, such as benzene and vinyl chloride, and concluded that the water at the base was tainted between January 1, 1950 and December 31, 1985, but that the contamination could not be linked to any health problems;"Contaminated Water At Base Spurs Suit", Washington Times, July 7, 2009, p. 6. however, on October 22, 2010, a letter from the Director of the government agency tasked to study health effects at Superfund sites, such as Camp Lejeune, illustrated the limitations of the 2009 literature review and advised that there "was undoubtedly a hazard associated with drinking the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune".October 22, 2010 letter from Dr. Poitier, ATSDR to Donald Schregardus, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy
In 1980, the base began testing the water for trihalomethanes in response to new regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). That same year, a laboratory from the U.S. Army Environmental Hygiene Agency began finding halogenated hydrocarbons in the water. In March 1981, one of the lab's reports, which was delivered to U.S. Marine officials, stated, "Water is highly contaminated with other chlorinated hydrocarbons (solvents)!"Barrett, Barbara, "Warnings about Camp Lejeune's tainted water unheeded for years ", Stars and Stripes, April 18, 2010.
Possible sources of the contamination include solvents from a nearby, off-base dry cleaning company, from on-base units using chemicals to clean military equipment, and leaks from underground fuel storage tanks. In 1982, a private company, Grainger Laboratories, contracted by the USMC to examine the problem provided the base commander with a report showing that the wells supplying water for the base were contaminated with trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene (also known as perchlorethylene). The contractor delivered repeated warnings to base officials, including base chemist Elizabeth Betz, that the water was contaminated. A representative from Grainger, Mike Hargett, stated that he went with Betz in July 1982 to inform an unnamed Marine lieutenant colonel who was deputy director of base utilities about the problems with the water. According to Hargett, the Marine was unwilling to discuss Hargett's concerns. In August 1982, a Grainger chemist, Bruce Babson, sent a letter to the base commander, Marine Major General D. J. Fulham, warning him that the base wells appeared to be poisoned. The water from the contaminated wells, however, continued in use at the base.Zucchino, David, "The Few, The Proud, The Stricken: A rare cancer cluster is found in families who used tainted Camp Lejeune water. Some fault Marine officials." Los Angeles Times, August 26, 2009, p. 10.
Grainger continued to warn Marine officials of problems with the water in December 1982, March 1983, and September 1983. In a spring 1983 report to the EPA, Lejeune officials stated that there were no environmental problems at the base. In June 1983, North Carolina's water supply agency asked Lejeune officials for Grainger's lab reports on the water testing. Marine officials declined to provide the reports to the state agency. In December 1983 Lejeune officials scaled back the water testing performed by Grainger.
Further reports In July 1984, a different company contracted under the EPA's Superfund review of Lejeune and other sites found benzene in the base's water, along with PCE and TCE. At this point, chemists were testing individual wells. In one case, a well was found to have a dangerously high concentration of a chemical normally found in gasoline, which should have mandated the well's immediate closure. Marine officials shut down one of the contaminated wells in November 1984 and the others in early 1985. The Marines notified North Carolina of the contamination in December 1984. At this time the Marines did not disclose that benzene had been discovered in the water and stated to the media that the EPA did not mandate unacceptable levels of PCE and TCE.
In 1997 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) investigated the well water and concluded that cancer derived from exposure to the water was unlikely. According to a federal investigation, ATSDR investigators overlooked evidence of benzene in the water when preparing the report.Barrett, Barbara (September 14, 2010). "Congress Wants Answers On Water Contamination At Lejeune", Raleigh News & Observer, p. 1.
On April 28, 2009, the ATSDR admitted that the water had been contaminated with benzene and withdrew the 1997 report. The benzene most likely occurred as a result of 800,000 gallons of fuel that leaked from the base fuel farm during the years in question. The fuel leaks occurred near the main well that serves Hadnot Point, location of enlisted and officer's quarters and the base hospital.Barrett, Barbara, "Marine Base's Ex-Residents, Many Ill, Only Now Learning Of Toxic Water", Raleigh News & Observer, February 14, 2010. For unknown reasons, the presence of benzene in the water had been omitted from the USMC report submitted for federal health review in 1992, in spite of the USMC being aware of its presence. The report had been prepared by a contractor, Baker Corp.Maurer, Kevin, (Associated Press), "Report on Marines’ water omitted cancer chemical", Stars and Stripes, February 18, 2010. State officials had also reportedly informed the ATSDR in 1994 about the presence of benzene in the water.
Responses and actions Notifications and responses to initial investigations In 1999 the USMC began to notify former base residents that they might have consumed contaminated water. The notifications were directed by a federal health study examining possible birth defects among children born at the base during the contamination years. Up to this point, many families potentially affected by the water contamination attributed rare illnesses and cancers in their families to bad luck.
In 2005 the US Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigated the USMC's handling of the issue, and reported that they found no criminal conduct by USMC officials. In 2007, however, one of the EPA investigators told Congress that he had recommended obstruction of justice charges against some Camp Lejeune officials, but had been overruled by Justice department prosecutors.
In 2007, Jerry Ensminger, a retired Marine master sergeant, found a document dated 1981 that described a radioactive dump site near a rifle range at the camp. According to the report, the waste was laced with strontium-90, an isotope known to cause leukemia and other cancers. According to Camp Lejeune's installation restoration program manager, base officials learned in 2004 about the 1981 document. Ensminger served in the Marine Corps for 24 and a half years, and lived for part of that time at Camp Lejeune. In 1985 his 9-year-old daughter, Janey, died of cancer.
An advocacy group called The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten was created to inform possible victims of the contamination at Lejeune. The group's website includes an introduction with some basic information about the contamination at Lejeune, including that many health problems, such as various types of cancer, miscarriages, and birth defects, have been noted in people who drank the contaminated water. According to their site, numerous base housing areas were affected by the contamination, including Tarawa Terrace, Midway Park, Berkeley Manor, Paradise Point, Hadnot Point, Hospital Point, and Watkins Village and Knox Trailer Park (Frenchman's Point).
In 2008, the USMC began a Congressionally required notification campaign to notify former base residents of the issue. An online health registry now contains more than 135,000 names.
United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has determined that a former servicemember's cancer was caused by his exposure to the contaminated water. Paul Buckley, a USMC veteran who was diagnosed with incurable hematological malignancy, was stationed at Camp Lejeune in the 1980s.Sawyer, Diane, and Steve Osunsami, "Toxic Water", ABC World News, March 19, 2010. In March 2010 the VA decided that Buckley's cancer was directly linked to his ingestion of contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and awarded him 100% disability benefits.Jontz, Sandra, "VA Ruling On Former Marine's Illness May Affect Thousands", Stars and Stripes, March 27, 2010. This is believed to be the first time the government has admitted liability. On February 22, 2012, the VA agreed that retired Marine Frank Rachowicz' terminal cancer was caused by exposure to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.Mason, Anthony, "Contaminated Water", CBS Evening News, May 28, 2012
Lawsuits Laura Jones On July 6, 2009, Laura Jones filed a suit against the U.S. government over the contaminated water at the base. Jones previously lived at the base where her husband, a Marine, was stationed.