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ATSDR’s Birth Defects and Childhood Cancer Study Results Released
Press Release: United States Marine Corps
December 05, 2013

United States Marine Corps
Division of Public Affairs, Headquarters Marine Corps

HEADQUARTERS MARINE CORPS - The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s (ATSDR) “Evaluation of exposure to contaminated drinking water and specific birth defects and childhood cancers at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina: a case--control study” has been published. The purpose of this study was to determine if maternal exposures to the contaminants in the drinking water at Camp Lejeune increased the risk of certain health conditions. The study relies on ATSDR’s water modeling estimates of past exposures to a class of chemicals known as “volatile organic compounds” (VOCs) in water.

The Provisional PDF and ATSDR’s factsheet can be viewed here: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/update.html

For more information about this and other studies being conducted by ATSDR, visit http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/ or call (800) 232-4636. ATSDR’s water modeling study can be viewed here: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/watermodeling.html

To learn more about health care benefits provided pursuant to the “Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012,” please visit the Department of Veterans Affairs website at: http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/benefits_book/benefits_contacts.asp

The drinking water at Camp Lejeune currently meets all government drinking water standards and is tested more often than required. For Camp Lejeune’s annual water quality reports, please see: http://www.lejeune.marines.mil/OfficesStaff/EnvironmentalMgmt/AnnualReports.aspx

Since 1991, the Marine Corps has supported scientific and public health organizations that are studying this important issue. These results provide additional information in support of ongoing efforts to provide comprehensive science-based answers to the health questions that have been raised.

The Marine Corps continues to support these initiatives and we are working diligently to identify and notify individuals who, in the past, may have been exposed to the chemicals in drinking water. For more information about these efforts, or to register to receive information as future studies are released, please see: www.marines.mil/clwater

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