Senators press Navy for new Lejeune study

[unhappycamper]

Senators press Navy for new Lejeune study
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Dec 10, 2009 6:18:23 EST

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — North Carolina’s two senators are again pushing the Navy to fund a critical study on contaminated drinking water at a Marine base.

Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan are among four senators urging the Navy to fund a $1.8 million mortality study. The study will determine if there are higher mortality rates for active duty Marines who served at the base during the years that the water was contaminated.

“These studies are integral to a comprehensive understanding of the effects stemming from human exposure to the contaminants at Camp Lejeune,” the senators wrote in a letter dated Wednesday. “We have an obligation to the men and women who serve our country and their families to investigate this matter to the full extent.”

Water supplied to Camp Lejeune’s main family housing areas was contaminated by dry cleaning solvents and other sources. Health officials believe as many as 1 million people may have been exposed to the toxins before the wells were closed 22 years ago.

The Navy recently agreed to pay $92,000 for the reanalysis of a study looking at pregnancy issues like mean birth weight and preterm birth. It also approved $2 million for the completion of a water modeling project to determine how underground water flowed at the base and how toxins would have been introduced and spread.


Article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/12/ap_marine_lejeune_water_study_121009/