There is NOTHING good going with this travesty other than it's being addressed? Best of luck to all affected.
[h=2]Causes of Camp Lejeune Water Contamination[/h]
Water from the Tarawa Terrace Treatment Plant and the Hadnot Point Treatment Plant were found to be contaminated primarily by two toxic chemicals.
The Tarawa Terrace Treatment Plant was contaminated by perchloroethylene (PCE), a colorless liquid most commonly used for dry cleaning. The source of this contamination was found to be the waste disposal practices of an off-base dry cleaning company. The PCE levels at the Tarawa Terrace Treatment Plant highly exceeded current standards between November 1957 and February 1987, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry.
At the Hadnot Point Treatment Plant, the water was contaminated by trichloroethylene (TCE), a volatile anesthetic. Underground storage tank leaks, industrial area spills and water disposal sites are believed to have been the sources of the TCE contamination. [h=2]Side Effects of Contaminated Water Exposure[/h]
There has been suggestive evidence of a link between extended exposure to PCE or TCE and serious and often fatal diseases, including:
- Liver cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Breast cancer
- Bladder cancer
- Ovarian cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Lung cancer
- Leukemia
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Liver disease
- Miscarriages
- Birth defects
In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control’s Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry released the findings of a study first started in 2003. The study concluded that children born to mothers who drank the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune were four times more likely to suffer birth defects, such as spina bifida. These babies also had a slightly elevated risk of childhood cancers, such as leukemia.