A cover up of one of the worst environmental disasters in the history of the United States took place at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina from 1957 to 1987. An estimated one million Marines and families were exposed to multiple sources of unregulated chemicals discovered in base drinking water systems. One specific chemical was benzene, a gasoline additive, which is a carcinogen known to cause cancer. One point one million gallons of gasoline leaked into the drinking water. This has been the subject of at least three congressional hearings over the last few years. Numerous documents containing explosive information have been unearthed.
Another chemical was Trichloroethylene (TCE), a chlorinated solvent in fire extinguishers, aerosol propellants, degreasers, cleaning solutions, paint thinners, pesticides, and glues to name a few.
Who took on the Defense Department, Congress and powerful special interests on Capitol Hill to expose this needless atrocity? How has one Marine survived for 30 years with diagnosis of renal failure, kidney dialysis, congestive heart failure, Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, and various other catastrophic illnesses from his exposure? In the words of one news reporter, He was getting ready to fight battles overseas and never dreamed his real fight would come from the water. We were drinking it, cooking in it, bathing in it and just absorbing it through the body.
