JACKSONVILLE, NC — A new National Research Council report has concluded that although evidence exists that people who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune Marine Base in North Carolina between the 1950s and 1985 were exposed to industrial solvents in their water supply, “strong scientific evidence is not available to determine whether health problems among those exposed are due to the contaminants.”

A National Research Council committee, headed by David A. Savitz of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City, wrote the 341-page report, Contaminated Water Supplies at Camp Lejeune — Assessing Potential Health Effects. The report, sponsored by the US Department of the Navy, was presented during a June 13 briefing at the USO of North Carolina in Jacksonville. The National Research Council operates under the auspices of The National Academies.

The report also states that further research is unlikely to provide “definitive information on whether exposure resulted in adverse health effects in most cases.” As a result, the committee recommended the Navy and Marine Corps pursue policy changes or administrative actions to address and resolve the concerns associated with the exposures.

According to a June 13 jdnews.com article about the briefing, the Marine Corps released a statement on June 13 stating it will review and consider the report before identifying the next steps to take as it works with agencies, constituents and potentially affected former residents.

Two Camp Lejeune water supply systems, Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point, were found to be contaminated with various toxic industrial solvents, including tricholorethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE), from the mid-1950s until the mid-1980s, after which the wells were shut down. Camp Lejeune is a major training base for the Marines.

According to reports, the PCE entered the groundwater as a result of spills and improper disposal practices by an off-base dry cleaner, and the TCE was from on-base spills and leaks from underground storage equipment.

The Associated Press reported June 14 that a longtime critic of the military’s handling of the issue said he wanted to question the study panel, which he said did not have all the information it needed about contaminants. Jerry Ensminger, a retired Marine whose daughter was conceived on Camp Lejeune and died of childhood leukemia in 1985 at age 9, is quoted saying, “This is a whitewash of the facts.”

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