What Contaminated the Water at Camp Lejeune?

What Were the Main Causes of Water Contamination at Camp Lejeune?

In the last handful of years, stories about water contamination in communities across the United States have sadly become common. Often, the problems have come from aging lead pipes or specific sources of industrial runoff.

At Camp Lejeune, however, the contaminated water problem can’t be traced back to a single factor or dangerous substance. In fact, two separate water treatment plants—Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point—became affected, each for different reasons.

For areas served by the Tarawa Terrace water treatment plant (including military housing, administrative offices, schools, and more), the biggest source of harmful chemicals came from a nearby dry-cleaning facility. From at least 1964 to 1986, toxic dry-cleaning solvent chemicals used by ABC One-Hour Cleaners were routinely handled and disposed of improperly.

Sometimes, these chemicals were even discharged directly into the septic system. Chemicals seeped into the groundwater and quickly contaminated wells at the Tarawa Terrace military housing, located less than 500 feet away. Tarawa Terrace was not switched over to the public water system until 1985.

At Hadnot Point (which served housing and offices as well as Camp Lejeune’s base hospital), chemical contaminants may have come from a wider variety of potential sources, including:

• Chemical spills at on-base industrial sites
• Leaking underground storage tanks
• Dumping of oil and industrial wastewater into storm drains
• Multiple waste disposal sites
• Buried radioactive materials

What Harmful Chemicals Were Found in the Camp Lejeune Drinking Water?

The primary list of major contaminants in the Camp Lejeune water supply include the following volatile organic compounds (VOCs):

• Trichlorethylene (TCE). Commonly used as a degreasing solvent for metal parts and equipment, TCE exposure is known to cause symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, and nausea. In higher quantities, TCE has been linked to kidney cancer, liver cancer, lymphoma, and developmental defects in children. TCE breaks down very slowly in soil and water, meaning it can contaminate groundwater for long periods of time.
• Tetrachloroethylene (PCE or PERC). A chemical used in dry cleaning and metal degreasing. Like TCE, smaller quantities can lead to dizziness, nausea, and headaches. Chronic exposure has been linked to bladder cancer, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, cognitive impairments, mood changes, and more. And like TCE, PCE breaks down slowly in soil, water, and even air.
• Vinyl chloride. A byproduct of both TCE and PCE, vinyl chloride is known to be harmful to the central nervous system, cardiovascular system (including the heart and blood vessels), immune system, and liver. The chemical can also cause developmental defects in children and young people.
• Benzene. One of the most common production chemicals in the United States, benzene is found in plastics, rubber, synthetic fibers, lubricants, detergents, pesticides, crude oil, and more. High levels of benzene exposure can damage bone marrow and decrease production of healthy blood cells. Benzene has also been linked with leukemia and can pass through the bloodstream from mothers to unborn children.