WASHINGTON, D.C. – United States Senator Kay R. Hagan (D-NC) today issued a statement on the new Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) report detailing ground water contamination at Camp Lejeune. The report confirms that significant concentrations of benzene, PCE (tetrachloroethylene), TCE (trichloroethylene), and vinyl chloride had been detected in water-supply wells and in drinking water from Hadnot Point and Holcomb Boulevard water treatment plants on the base. The ATSDR report is the first in a series focusing on the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
“This groundbreaking report provides scientific evidence to verify what our Camp Lejeune families have known for a long time-that the water on base was contaminated with harmful chemicals,” Hagan said. “These studies are critical to getting the answers our former Camp Lejeune families deserve, and I am committed to ensuring that ATSDR has the resources and cooperation to complete the reports in a timely manner.”
The 1997 public health assessment by the ATSDR stated that Marines and their families faced little or no cancer risk from drinking and bathing in ground water at Camp Lejeune that was chemically-tainted by TCE and PCE. However, last year ATSDR, which is a scientific research agency under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said it could no longer stand by parts of its assessment due to data inaccuracies and the omission of other contaminants, such as benzene.
Senators Hagan and Richard Burr (R-NC) included a key amendment in this year’s Defense Authorization Bill that requires the Navy to assist the ATSDR in completing the new reports. Hagan also included a provision that prevents the Navy from disposing of water contamination claims before the new ATSDR studies are completed. The full Senate must still consider the Defense Authorization bill.
Robert O’Dowd served in the 1st, 3rd and 4th Marine Aircraft Wings during 52 months of active duty in the 1960s. While at MCAS El Toro for two years, O’Dowd worked and slept in a Radium 226 contaminated work space in Hangar 296 in MWSG-37, the most industrialized and contaminated acreage on the base.
Robert is a two time cancer survivor and disabled veteran. Robert graduated from Temple University in 1973 with a bachelor’s of business administration, majoring in accounting, and worked with a number of federal agencies, including the EPA Office of Inspector General and the Defense Logistics Agency.
After retiring from the Department of Defense, he teamed up with Tim King of Salem-News.com to write about the environmental contamination at two Marine Corps bases (MCAS El Toro and MCB Camp Lejeune), the use of El Toro to ship weapons to the Contras and cocaine into the US on CIA proprietary aircraft, and the murder of Marine Colonel James E. Sabow and others who were a threat to blow the whistle on the illegal narcotrafficking activity. O’Dowd and King co-authored BETRAYAL: Toxic Exposure of U.S. Marines, Murder and Government Cover-Up. The book is available as a soft cover copy and eBook from Amazon.com. See: http://www.amazon.com/Betrayal-Exposure-Marines-Government-Cover-Up/dp/1502340003.
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