[CPEO-MEF] VOCs, HEALTH: "The Deadly Impact of Contaminated Water at Camp Lejeune" (NC)

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

The Deadly Impact of Contaminated Water at Camp Lejeune

By COL, JAGC (US Army Ret.) Eugene Powell
Columbia Star
September 5, 2014

>From the Halls of Montezuma, the Shores of Tripoli, to the City of Fallujah, the Marines have been at the forefront of taking the battle to the enemy. Now, in 2014, a different enemy is emerging as a potentially deadly foe arising from the aftermath of water contamination at Camp Lejeune from 1957-1987.

The National Institute of Health reported the widespread use and storage of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the United States has led to releases of these chemicals into the environment, including groundwater sources of drinking water. Many of these VOCs are commonly found in public drinking water supplies across the nation and are considered by state or federal agencies to be potentially carcinogenic.

Although none of the six VOCs necessarily poses a significant public health threat from drinking water exposures, 1, 1-DCE and benzene were found to pose the greatest cancer risk relative to the other VOCs.

At Camp Lejeune, the drinking water was found to be contaminated with VOCs, including industrial solvents and components of fuels, such as Trichloroethylene (TCE), Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene, or PCE), and Benzene. From as early as the mid 1950s, two of the eight water treatment facilities supplying water to the base were contaminated with TCE and PCE. It has been estimated by the DHHS’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) that TCE and PCE drinking water levels exceeded current standards from 1957-1987.

…

For the entire column, see
http://www.thecolumbiastar.com/news/2014-09-05/On_Second_Thought/P_T_S__D_.html

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650-961-8918 or 650-969-1545
Fax: 650-961-8918
LSiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org




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