Atlanta – Today the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) released preliminary findings from the revised public health assessment (PHA) of the health effects of exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in the drinking water at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
The public is invited to review the PHA online and to submit comments before July 5, 2016. The public comment process gives residents an opportunity to review reports, ask questions, and provide input. ATSDR’s response to the public comments received will be included in the appendix of the final report. The final report will be published later this year.
Comments on the report must be submitted in writing and mailed to:
ATSDR Records Center
Attn: Rolanda Morrison
4770 Buford Highway, NE (MS F-90)
Atlanta, GA 30341
The revised public health assessment:
- evaluated whether past exposures to chemicals at Camp Lejeune were likely to result in exposure-related disease,
- assessed additional exposure scenarios requested by the Community Assistance Panel (CAP), and
- investigated more recent exposure to lead in drinking water at Camp Lejeune.
Since publication of the original PHA in 1997, additional scientific analyses and studies have expanded the scientific knowledge base regarding VOC contaminants of concern in the drinking water at Camp Lejeune. The 1997 PHA was removed from the ATSDR website in 2009 and is being replaced with this updated PHA. This updated PHA evaluates exposures to VOCs based on these new analyses and studies, particularly the findings from ATSDR’s historical reconstruction modeling efforts and evaluates more recent exposure to lead in drinking water based on sampling data collected by the United States Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune.
For more information about this public health assessment and other work done by ATSDR at Camp Lejeune, please visit http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/index.html.
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ATSDR, a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, evaluates the potential for adverse human health effects of exposure to hazardous substances in the environment.