What is Camp Lejeune and Why Was It Labeled a Superfund Site? Camp Lejeune is a Marine military base in North Carolina that was founded in 1941. Located on North Carolina’s Atlantic coast, Camp Lejeune is one of the Marine Corp’s largest—and busiest—bases. Camp Lejeune is also the site of one of the worst public drinking water contaminations in our nation’s history. Like many other bases of this era, there was often a “lag” in environmental stewardship. By the 1970s, the EPA had labeled Camp Lejeune a “major polluter.” This was due to oil and industrial wastewater being dumped in the storm drains along with buried radioactive materials, and even dog carcasses used in testing buried at the camp.

A nearby drycleaning business that dumped its chemicals into the drain wastewater completed this perfect storm of toxic substances that ended up in the wells used for those who lived and worked at Camp Lejeune. Claiming the toxic chemicals found in the Camp’s drinking water were not regulated (for more than two decades), the Marine Corps evasions were only partially true. The Department of Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery—which was in force at Camp Lejeune and other military bases—barred harmful substances in the water in the 1970s.

There were even wells closed on other military bases in the 1970s due to solvents found in the water. As far back as 1974, there was a regulation on Camp Lejeune’s books showing the Marine Corps was aware of the danger the organic solvents posed. They knew the drinking water could be contaminated with these solvents, yet when investigators were reviewing the water contamination at Camp Lejeune that information was not released. In fact, the water at Camp Lejeune was not tested in earnest until late 1980.

Military chemists tested the dozens of water wells at Camp Lejeune, finding there were solvents in the water, yet the Marine Corps claim they did not receive those results until 1982. This gap of more than a year actually made little difference, as nothing was actually done until later in 1982 when Grainger Laboratories was brought in to test the water at Camp Lejeune. The very first test found high levels of “synthetic organic cleaning solvents” in two of Camp Lejeune’s largest living areas—where thousands of Marines, their families, and employees of the camp lived and worked.

Grainger continued to test and continued to warn the Marine Corps about the toxic water for the next two years. A Grainger chemist later told the Times that the warnings regarding the contaminated water that Grainger issued to the Marine Corps were “not well received.” Eventually, frustrated with the lack of action by the Marine Corps, the chemist tipped off officials in NC that the Corps was holding back original reports of contamination. The contaminated wells remained in operation until late 1984 and early 1985 when ten wells at Camp Lejeune were closed. Federal scientists would later estimate that the water had been contaminated since the early 1950s.  

Despite the fact that the levels of dangerous contaminants in the Camp Lejeune water wells were among the highest ever seen in a public water system, the commanding general at Camp Lejeune told residents that the contaminants in the water were “minute.” In fact, solvent levels in tested tap water were a staggering 280 times higher than what the EPA considers to be safe levels. Once the public was aware of the contaminated water at the Camp, the EPA opened an inquiry. Camp Lejeune was labeled as a “Superfund” site. “Superfund” is the informal name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) established in 1980. This Act allows the EPA to clean up contaminated sites, forcing those responsible for the contamination to clean up the site or reimburse the government for EPA cleanup.

What Chemicals Were Found in the Camp Lejeune Water and How Harmful Are They? The chemicals found when the water at Camp Lejeune was tested were primarily:

• Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a solvent used mainly for cleaning metal parts. TCE is also used as an extraction solvent for tars, waxes, fats, oils, and greases, and is used to produce other chemicals, like refrigerants. TCE is a volatile, colorless liquid organic chemical that does not occur naturally.  Consumer products that contain TCE include paint removers, adhesives, rug-cleaning fluids, spot removers, aerosol cleaning products, paint removers, cleaning wipes, spray adhesives, and typewriter correction fluids. In the past, TCE was used as a general anesthetic. TCE is the most commonly found organic contaminant in groundwater with estimates that between 9 and 34 percent of drinking water supplies have some level of TCE contamination. Neurological, lung, kidney, and heart effects have been seen in animals exposed to TCE. Humans exposed to TCE in drinking water show liver, kidney, and immune and endocrine system disruptions. Prolonged or repeated exposure to TCE is associated with increased risks of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and liver cancer.   
• Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) is used for dry cleaning and metal degreasing. PCE is a synthetic chemical that is a non-flammable liquid at room temperature that evaporates easily into the air. PCE has a sharp, sweet odor that most people can smell. Most exposure to PCE occurs in the workplace, although products that contain PCE include silicone lubricants, water repellents, spot removers, wood cleaners, adhesives, and fabric finishers. Water polluted with PCE can have levels greater than 1 ppm. PCE may enter air and water supplies when the chemicals used to remove grease from metals are improperly disposed of. PCE travels easily through soil making its way into underground wells. When PCE enters underground water, it can stay for months before being broken down. PCE exposure can result in kidney and liver damage. Studies done on animals have shown that animals exposed to PCE resulted in behavior problems in their offspring. PCE can reasonably be anticipated to be a human carcinogen, and the EPA has classified it as such.
• Vinyl chloride (VC) is created when TCE and PCE degrade in groundwater. Vinyl chloride is a colorless gas that does not appear naturally. VCs are produced industrially for commercial uses, primarily to make PVC plastic products. Workers where vinyl chloride is produced or used can be exposed through inhalation. When a water supply is contaminated by vinyl chloride, the gas can enter the household air when the water is used for laundry, cooking, showering, or drinking. Vinyl Chloride exposure creates an increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer, along with brain and lung cancers, leukemia, and lymphoma.
• Benzene is used to make other chemicals that are used to make nylon, resins, plastics, and synthetic fibers. Benzene is also used in the manufacture of some dyes, lubricants, rubbers, pesticides, drugs, and detergents. Benzene has a sweet odor that evaporates into the air quickly. Benzene is colorless and will slightly dissolve in water.  Outdoor air can contain low levels of Benzene from motor vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, and cigarette smoke. Indoor air can contain benzene resulting from detergents, glues, furniture wax, and paints. Benzene can cause human cells to stop working correctly. As an example, benzene can change the blood levels of antibodies, causing the loss of white blood cells, or could cause bone marrow to fail to produce enough red blood cells, leading to anemia.

How Did the Chemicals Get into the Camp Lejeune Water? There were two water supply systems at Camp Lejeune—Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point. Tarawa Terrace began operations in 1952, while Hadnot Point began operations in 1943. The operations were similar, in that water supply wells collected groundwater, then pumped that groundwater into a water treatment plant. The wells were cycled, meaning only certain wells were pumped to the treatment plants at any given time.

It was found that several wells on both systems were contaminated; when those contaminated wells were operating, toxic water was delivered to the plants and then mixed with water from other wells. Hadnot Point and Tarawa Terrace served enlisted family housing and barracks for unmarried service personnel, primarily younger families. They also served base administrative offices, recreational areas, and schools, while only the Hadnot Point system served the base hospital.

The primary contaminant at Tarawa Terrace was PCE from the drycleaning solvents. The ATSDR study compared monthly estimates of PCE from Tarawa Terrace with the EPA’s maximum contaminant levels of 5 ug/L. The study determined that beginning in November 1957, the concentration of PCE delivered to residents of Camp Lejeune was significantly higher than what the EPA allowed until 1985 when the wells were closed.

The water supply contamination for Hadnot Point is more complex because there were multiple sources of contamination and multiple contaminants. Numerous sites were identified as contributors to the toxic groundwater in Hadnot Point, including a drum dump, an industrial fly-ash dump, a transformer storage lot, the site of an on-base dry cleaner, a fuel-tank sludge area, a former burn dump, a fire training area, an open storage pit, and a liquid disposal area.

The primary contaminant at Hadnot Point was TCE, but many other chemicals were present as well, including PCE, vinyl chloride, 1,1-DCE, 1,2-DCE, methylene chloride, toluene, and benzene. The groundwater contamination for Hadnot Point appears to have been significantly higher than that at Tarawa terrace. The level of water consumption, showering and bathing patterns, and other water-related behaviors like dishwashing, are all key determinants of the level of Camp Lejeune exposure.  The maximum level of TCE detected in Camp Lejeune’s drinking water was 1,400 ug/L in May 1982—the current limit for TCE in drinking water under EPA rules is 5 ug/L.

If you or a loved one was exposed to the toxic water at Camp Lejeune between the years 1953 and 1987, it is important that you speak to a knowledgeable Camp Lejeune attorney. The Camp Lejeune law firm of Sullo & Sullo is ready to assist you in determining your eligibility for a Camp Lejeune lawsuit.