In 1982, the Marine Corps discovered “volatile organic compounds” in the drinking water provided by two of the eight water treatment plants on base, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Water from the Tarawa Terrace Treatment Plant had 40 times the federal acceptable level of perchloroethylenes, or PCEs, according to the agency. The source of the contamination was the waste disposal practices at an off-base dry cleaning firm, according to the agency.

The water at the Hadnot Point Treatment Plant was contaminated primarily by TCEs from underground storage tanks, industrial area spills and waste disposal sites, according to the agency. The TCE level was 280 times more than the accepted level.

The contamination dates back to the late 1950s, according to the agency, and the worst contaminated wells were not shut down until 1985, potentially exposing about 1 million Marines, spouses and children who lived on the base over that time.

Agency studies show that those who drank water contaminated with PCEs and TCEs have reported non-Hodgkins lymphoma, bladder cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer. Children born to mothers who were exposed to the chemicals reported leukemia, low birth rate, fetal death, major heart defects, neural tube defects, oral cleft defects, nasal passages blocked with bone and eye defects.
Lejeune officials began to investigate when reports the chemicals first appeared, according to the Marine Corps. In late 1984, the base began receiving the results of the first round of sampling, and base officials quickly shut down the wells.

“As soon as it was discovered that the chemicals were moving into the wells, the wells were taken out of service,” the Marine Corps website states.

The Marine Corps says it has developed an outreach response using multiple forms of communication and media. The IRS used its database to mail an estimated 150,000 letters from Aug. 1 to Oct. 1, 2008.