Notable case, Jacksonville, North Carolina, United States
Camp Lejeune water contamination
A Marine Corps base whose drinking water was contaminated for about thirty years with chlorinated solvents and benzene from an off-base dry cleaner and from leaks and spills on the base.
At a glance
- Status
- Remediation under way
- Activity
- 1953–1985
- People affected
- 750,000 (2012)1
- Media
- groundwater
- Kind of site
- military
- National list
- Listed 1989National Priorities List
- People affected. The Janey Ensminger Act applies to up to 750,000 people (Wikipedia); this is not an estimate of those made ill.
Contaminants
National list
On the list (final)United States
Superfund National Priorities List (NPL)
- Listed
- 1989
- Official id
- NC6170022580 ↗
About this list
The list of contaminated sites that are national priorities for federal clean-up under CERCLA (Superfund, 1980), kept by EPA (40 CFR Part 300, Appendix B). Listing makes a site eligible for long-term remedial action paid by the Superfund; sites are proposed and then listed through Federal Register notices, and deleted when no further response is needed.
Includes federal facilities (Defense, Energy). Dates are the years of the Federal Register notices (final listing, deletion); 'listed' is empty for proposed sites. Some sites still on the list have had partial deletions. Contaminants and media: contaminants of concern from decision documents (RODs, ROD amendments, ESDs; EPA, fiscal years 1981-2024, SEMS document HQ/406315); for sites with no decision document (mostly proposed or recently listed) the contaminants are those EPA records for the site (FOIA-015, document HQ/406366), with no medium. 'Deleted' means EPA found no further response needed, which can include land-use controls still in force.
Status
Remediation under way
The most contaminated wells were shut in February 1985. As of 5 June 2024, 232,892 claims had been filed under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act and 1,813 lawsuits were before the federal court.
Story
Two of the base's water treatment plants supplied contaminated water. At Tarawa Terrace the main contaminant was perchloroethylene (PCE) from ABC One-Hour Cleaners, off the base: ATSDR's reconstruction found that the concentration exceeded today's limit of 5 ppb for 346 months, from November 1957 to February 1987. At Hadnot Point, from August 1953, trichloroethylene (TCE) dominated, with PCE, benzene and breakdown products such as vinyl chloride, from leaking underground tanks, spills in the industrial area and waste disposal sites.
The contamination was discovered in 1982 and the most polluted wells were shut in early 1985. The 2012 Janey Ensminger Act, which applies to up to 750,000 people, provides health care to former residents; since 2022 the Camp Lejeune Justice Act has allowed them to claim compensation.
Timeline
- 1953Estimated start of contamination at Hadnot Point.
- 1957Estimated start of contamination at Tarawa Terrace.
- 1982Solvents discovered in the water.
- 1985Most contaminated wells shut.
- 2012Janey Ensminger Act.
- 2022Camp Lejeune Justice Act.
Health
ATSDR's position is that exposures from the 1950s to February 1985 likely increased the risk of cancers (kidney, multiple myeloma, leukaemias and others), adverse birth outcomes and other health effects. A 2014 CDC study reported a 10% higher risk of dying from cancer and, specifically, a 68% higher risk for multiple myeloma.
Remediation
- 1985well closureClosure of the most contaminated supply wells.
From the literature
Species that acted on one of this site's contaminants in at least one study. The list is automatic and takes no account of this site's soil, concentrations or climate.
Plants
- Populus × generosaHybrid poplar (P. trichocarpa × P. deltoides)Chlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE, chloroform)Evidence: field
- Populus × canadensisCanadian poplar (P. deltoides × P. nigra)Chlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE, chloroform)Evidence: laboratory
Fungi
- Scedosporium apiospermumBTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes)Evidence: laboratory
- Trametes versicolorTurkey tailChlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE, chloroform)Evidence: laboratory
Sources
- About Camp Lejeune – drinking water contamination, ATSDR (CDC), 2026
- Camp Lejeune water contamination, Wikipedia, 2026
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.