Camp Lejeune Historic Drinking Water Report

OFF THE WIRE

Dear Registrant,

On March 15, 2013 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) released its "Chapter A: Summary and Findings" water modeling report for the Hadnot Point and Holcomb Boulevard Water Treatment Plants and Vicinities for Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. ( http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/hadnotpoint.html). You will receive a hard copy of the ATSDR fact sheet and other information in the mail in the coming weeks.

This report provides ATSDR's assessment of past exposures to a class of chemicals known as "volatile organic compounds" (VOCs) in the drinking water distributed by these two Camp Lejeune water treatment systems. These VOCs were commonly used as solvents for cleaning machinery and weapons, for dry cleaning, and some are found in fuels.

ATSDR's water modeling estimates that the first month any VOC exceeded the current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory standards in drinking water in the Hadnot Point system was August 1953, and at least one VOC exceeded the current standard in Hadnot Point drinking water from August 1953 through January 1985.

This release marks a major milestone towards the completion of scientific efforts pertaining to this issue and another step in ongoing efforts to provide comprehensive science-based answers to the health questions that have been raised. ATSDR will use these results and the results of a similar water model developed for the Tarawa Terrace area in 2007 to estimate chemical exposures for several of their on-going health studies.

Since 1991, the Marine Corps has supported scientific and public health organizations that are studying these issues. We continue to support these initiatives and are working diligently to identify and notify individuals who, in the past, may have been exposed to the chemicals in drinking water. For more information about these efforts, or to update your contact information, please see:  http://www.marines.mil/clwater/, call (877) 261-9782 or e-mail at  clwater@usmc.mil.

For the complete report and for information about studies being conducted by ATSDR, visit  http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/ or call (800) 232-4636.

To contact Veterans Affairs to learn more about the health care benefits, please visit http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/camp-lejeune/ or call (877) 222-8387 (Healthcare) or (800) 827-1000 (Benefits).

Sincerely,

The Camp Lejeune Historic Drinking Water Program