USMC pulls controversial water contamination booklet

Marine officials confirmed this week that a much-disputed pamphlet describing the history and effects of Camp Lejeune contaminated water had been pulled from the Marines’ official website.

The 33-page illustrated glossy pamphlet was published last July by the Marine Corps and sent to every member of Congress, then posted on the page dedicated to Camp Lejeune water information on Marines.mil.

The publication heavily cited a 2009 report by the National Research Council that was inconclusive about the effects of chemicals in the Lejeune drinking water and recommended that further study would be unable to produce a more definite conclusion. The results of that study were quickly called into doubt by former base residents and experts who said the research did not give proper weight to the presence of the known carcinogen benzene or analyze proper concentrations of the chemicals in the water.

In October, officials with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry sent a letter to Navy and Marine Corps leadership explaining why the study results should be considered inaccurate.

“The review of cancer risks by the NRC was incomplete and only partially addressed concerns at Camp Lejeune,” agency director Dr. Christopher Portier wrote. “… Let me be perfectly clear; there was undoubtedly a hazard associated with drinking the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. The epidemiological studies and the associated exposure modeling (currently being completed by ATSDR) will hopefully help us to decide on the level of risk associated with this hazard.”

But following Portier’s letter, the booklet and an accompanying letter citing the NRC study remained on the Marine Corps website.

In April, North Carolina legislators Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., and Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., made another plea to the Marine Corps to take down the letter.

“The USMC has often asserted that the numerous references to benzene in the NRC report are evidence benzene was assessed,” they wrote. “The position does not square with the substance of the report, nor does it characterize the report accurately for registrants and interested parties who may be unfamiliar with the details of the report’s content.”

The legislators also asked that the Marine Corps correct all correspondence with the public about the issue, and mail a new letter to the hundreds of thousands of names on the Camp Lejeune water registry informing them of the faulty information.

But the letter was not taken off the site until this month, following another meeting between Marine officials and legislators on Capitol Hill.

Marine spokeswoman Capt. Kendra Hardesty said Wednesday the letter and booklet were removed temporarily, to update and revise the information provided.

“As soon as it is vetted and approved, it will be put back up,” she said. “The secretary of the Navy has seen it, and the commandant (of the Marine Corps) will see it soon.”

Hardesty said ATSDR officials and staff with the Department of Veterans Affairs would have a chance to look at the documents before they were finalized and recommend changes.

“This is a partnership,” she said. “It’s going to be a back-and-forth dialogue on the information that is in there, and we’ll come to a compromise.”

At a meeting in Wilmington on Wednesday, Portier told The Daily News that the goal was to provide as complete a picture as possible as scientists continue to analyze the water and its effects.

"Our purpose in all of this is to provide decision makers and the public with accurate and sufficient information about Camp Lejeune so that decisions that are made are informed by the science," he said.

David Ward, a spokesman for Burr, said the senator applauds the move.

"Senator Burr has been assured that these flawed documents will be corrected promptly and that all information and communications from the Navy and Marine Corps to the affected community will be first reviewed by government scientists for accuracy before being distributed to the public," he said in a statement. "Removal of the current pamphlet and letter is clearly a step in the right direction.”

In a statement, Hagan said she too was glad to see the booklet taken down.

“I am pleased that the US Marine Corps removed the booklet that cites the 2009 National Research Council Report, which downplayed the link between the contaminated water and adverse health affects," she said. "This is an important step toward transparency and keeping the public informed of ongoing developments related to past water contamination at Camp Lejeune. I will continue to work with Senator Burr and my colleagues in Congress to support the USMC and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in their efforts to provide answers to the families who were exposed to contaminated water."

Former Lejeune resident and veterans’ advocate Mike Partain said the removal of the documents for review was a victory, but he worried about the effects the information had already had.

"It’s still unfinished business, because even though it’s been taken down, the people who read it still don’t know they were misinformed," he said.

Last month, ATSDR began a survey of 300,000 former Lejeune residents and control population to determine the population’s risk of developing a slew of serious diseases, including leukemia, renal cancer, and male breast cancer. It is estimates that up to one million people may have been exposed to tainted water aboard Lejeune between the 1950s and 1980s.

Contact military reporter Hope Hodge at 910-219-8453 or hhodge@freedomenc.com.