From 1953 until 1987, an estimated one million Marines and their families at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, were exposed to drinking water contaminated with several volatile organic compounds (VOCs) known to cause cancer and other serious health conditions.1 From the time of detection in 1980 until a Congressional mandate in 2007, the Marine Corps made little to no effort to notify the affected veterans and their families of the potential for health problems, and failed to fully disclose the true extent of the contamination.
ABSTRACT
During the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, overseas military bases faced unique challenges to preserve force health protection while simultaneously caring for military beneficiaries. The response to the rapidly evolving challenges surrounding transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in Okinawa, Japan, required innovative solutions. One innovative solution was the COVID-19 Operational Response Cell established at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler. This interview describes the COVID-19 Response Cell operations and essential lessons learned by a Navy Nurse Corps officer working with III Marine Expeditionary Force, a forward-deployed force in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
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
