[CPEO-MEF] Birth defects, child cancers to be studied

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North Carolina
THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
Birth defects, child cancers to be studied
Pregnant women may have been affected by exposure to toxins
JEFF NESMITH
Posted on Sat, Jul. 19, 2003

WASHINGTON - Federal epidemiologists will study 103 instances of birth
defects and childhood cancer among children born to women who lived at
the U.S. Marines' Camp Lejeune while pregnant.

The cancers and birth defects were identified in a survey designed to
determine whether a toxic Superfund site affected the health of people
living near it, Dr. Wendy Kaye, chief of epidemiology and surveillance
of the Atlanta-based Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry,
said Friday.

The 103 children were among 12,600 children whose mothers were pregnant
while living at Camp Lejeune in Onslow County between 1968 and 1985, she
said.

Kaye said wells contaminated with the toxic compounds trichloroethylene
(TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) that provided water for housing at
the base were closed in 1985.

TCE is a solvent generally used to remove grease from metal parts in
places such as automobile garages and motor pools, she said, while PCE
is a dry-cleaning solvent.

She said a now-closed laundry, ABC One Hour Cleaners, was the source of
contamination that led to a Superfund site designation near the base in
Eastern North Carolina.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/6338034.htm

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