Troubled waters at Camp Lejeune: An Overview

From 1957 to 1987, civilians, Marines and residents drank, cooked with, bathed in and swam in water contaminated by industrial solvents at Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base in Jacksonville. In a statement e-mailed to the Star-News, the Marines acknowledge the contamination occurred but said it is reserving judgment on the possible health effects until a national Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry study is complete in 2008.

Here's an overview of the issue, which has attracted the attention of national lawmakers and health agencies:

The water: Some of the wells at Camp Lejeune were contaminated by trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and dichloroethylene (DCE). These chemicals, believed by researchers to be possible carcinogens, were used as dry-cleaning solutions or as solvents to dissolve grease or other compounds. Leaking underground storage tanks, spills and drum disposal - along with solvent-disposal practices by a nearby dry cleaner - led to the contamination.

Contaminants were found in two of the eight water systems supplying Camp Lejeune: the Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point water systems, which served housing, schools, swimming pools and other buildings on the military base. By 1987, the Marines had shut down those systems. According to the Marine Corps, the water now meets federal standards.
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