Federal agency to present results of Camp Lejeune health studies at public meetings

(Atlanta)-- The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) invites the public to hear from the authors of a group of health studies conducted to understand the impact of exposure to contaminated drinking water at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.  The authors will discuss the study results during a public meeting at 6:00 p.m. on May 12, 2015.  The authors also will answer questions about the studies and their results. The quarterly Community Assistance Panel (CAP) meeting will take place at 9:00 a.m. on May 13; that meeting is also open to the public.  Both meetings will take place in Greensboro, North Carolina.

ATSDR has published several studies that describe the extent of the drinking water contamination at Camp Lejeune. These studies have linked exposures to the drinking water with a number of diseases and health conditions, including multiple cancers, preterm births, and neural tube defects.  U.S. Marine Corps and Navy personnel, their families, and civilian employees who worked at the base participated in the studies. 

Both meetings will be held at:

Embassy Suites Greensboro-Airport Hotel
204 Centreport Drive
Greensboro, North Carolina 27409
www.embassysuitesgreensboro.com 

Public Meeting:  May 12, 2015; 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Community Assistance Panel Meeting:  May 13, 2015; 9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Background: The contamination of drinking water at Camp Lejeune started in the early 1950s and ended in 1985 when highly contaminated water wells were removed from service. The water was contaminated with tetrachloroethylene (PCE), trichloroethylene (TCE), benzene, 1,2-dichloroethylene (DCE) and vinyl chloride.  Benzene and TCE are known human carcinogens, and PCE is considered a likely human carcinogen.  A privately owned dry cleaner next to Camp Lejeune as well as base activities that released fuel and chlorinated solvents into the environment were identified as the sources of the contamination.

For meeting updates and more information about the health studies and other work done by ATSDR at Camp Lejeune, visit http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/index.html.