North Carolina is home to one of the most intriguing water contamination incidents the whole country has ever seen. The controversy revolving around Camp Lejeune dates back to the middle of the previous century. Without further ado, here is the entire Camp Lejeune water contamination history.
History
Base Camp Lejeune has been a very valuable asset to generations of Marines since it first opened in WWII. Due to the impressive training facilities there, countless soldiers and their families have lived, worked, and served in that area. This also means that a large number of people have been exposed to the water there as well.
The sheer amount of pollution coming from Camp Lejeune was noticeable all the way back in the seventies. There is documented proof of the Marines dumping oil and other waste into the drains there. Radioactive waste and animal carcasses used for testing were also buried in the area of the base. At this point, it is clear that there was a certain degree of neglect on the part of authorities. They had even set up a daycare for children at a site that was previously a malaria control store. Chemicals and pesticides used to be kept in there as well.
In 1952, chemicals slowly made their way into the base’s water supply. This was only the beginning of the contamination problem that would go on for many years.
Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Timeline
The Camp Lejeune water contamination timeline is an absorbing one. The earliest instance of contamination that was confirmed happened in 1952. That was the year that the Tarawa Terrace Water Treatment Plant opened up and started operating.
Tarawa Terrace
Tarawa Terrace was mostly contaminated with the toxic chemical called tetrachloroethylene, otherwise known as PCE. PCE is very dangerous to humans. If someone is exposed to it, they are at risk of suffering damage to the nervous system. Not only does it hurt the nervous system, but it can also cause an array of other health issues. Some of these issues include damage to the respiratory system and liver damage. On top of all that, it is said to be a carcinogen.
As it stands, the severity of the damage is determined by the amount and duration of exposure. By 1957, the water pumped through the system at Tarawa Terrace had become entirely contaminated.
Hadnot Point
The year after the Tarawa Terrace incident, the Hadnot Point Water System became contaminated. In that same year, a dry cleaner opened near the base and would dump their waste straight into the water supply. Thus, the dry cleaner contributed greatly to the contamination of Camp Lejeune’s water. The water at Hadnot Point was mainly full of the contaminant known as trichloroethylene, more commonly referred to as TCE.
Holcomb Boulevard
In 1972, the Holcomb Boulevard water system began operating. In the year 1980, they finally tested the water at Camp Lejuene, NC. After the test results came out, it was officially confirmed and made public that the water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated. By 1985, the government began shutting down the wells that were known to have been contaminated. Shortly afterward, all of the contaminated sites were completely shut down.
In spite of them shutting down all of the contaminated wells, many people are still dealing with the effects of the contamination today. Many of the people who were exposed to the contamination are starting to fight for their rights. In 2017, which was thirty years after the last contaminated source had been shut down, veterans started filing VA benefits claims. As the Camp Lejeune water contamination history meets the present, in 2022 the Camp Lejeune Justice Act was finally signed and passed. This was celebrated on a nationwide level.
What The Victims Are Saying
For over three decades, innocent people were drinking and using poisoned water. Victims of contaminated Camp Lejuene water claim that USMC officials purposely hid the fact that the water was contaminated. They also accused them of not taking proper action to fix the problem. Yet another issue is that they waited too long to notify former and present residents. Officials responded to these claims by saying that their actions were not out of the ordinary during the years of contamination.
Essentially, back in the 1950s and until the 1980s, regulations were very different; contamination started before the Safe Drinking Water Act was passed. Officials also made it clear that their understanding of how chemicals affected humans was still very limited back then. This century has seen significant advances in science. Environmental protection programs are a priority now, especially at Camp Lejeune. Today, the base is still open and active because a promise was made.