A Trust Betrayed
Page 29
16. Letter from Robert E. Faye, Eastern Research Group, to Christopher Portier, director, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, February 19, 2012.
17. Letter from Senator Richard Burr to Daniel Levinson, Office of the Inspector General, US Department of Health and Human Services, March 7, 2012.
18. Martha Waggoner, “US Senate Panel Hears About Camp Lejeune Water,” Associated Press, March 13, 2012.
19. “In Defense Spending Bill, a Map Around Congressional Gridlock,” Washington Post, January 4, 2011, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/03/AR2011010305667.html.
20. Barbara Barrett, “Hagan, Burr Push Anew to Help Camp Lejeune Water Victims,” McClatchy Newspapers, February 3, 2011.
21. Martha Waggoner, “Vet’s Plea for Help Ends Forum on NC Toxic Water,” Associated Press, July 20, 2011; Environmental Working Group, “Cancer-Afflicted Marines Call on Obama for Support,” news release, December 14, 2011.
22. Elizabeth Dole, “Congress and Camp Lejeune’s Water,” Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer, January 10, 2012.
23. “Retired Marine Calls on Veterans Affairs to Help Poisoned Military Families,” May 24, 2012, press release, Change.org.
24. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, “Summary and Findings: Analyses and Historical Reconstruction of Drinking Water in the Hadnot Point and Holcomb Boulevard Water Treatment Plants Service Areas,” January 2013; Franco Ordonez, “Scientists Confirm Marines’ Poisonous Camp Lejeune Water Wells Date Back to Mid-Century,” McClatchy Newspapers, March 15, 2013, www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/03/15/185993/scientists-confirm-marines-poisonous.html#.UjjMidKTguc.
25. Allen G. Breed, “After Nearly 30 Years, Camp Lejeune Coming Clean,” Associated Press, May 18, 2013, http://bigstory.ap.org/article/after-nearly-30-years-camp-lejeune-coming-clean.
26. Allen G. Breed, “Marine Who Dumped Toxins Felt Illness Was Payback,” Associated Press, May 18, 2013, http://bigstory.ap.org/article/marine-who-dumped-toxins-felt-illness-was-payback.
27. Ibid.
28. Quoted in ibid.
29. Ibid.
16: CHANGING THE CULTURE
1. Lieutenant Colonel Wesley Hayes, US Marine Corps headquarters, e-mail to author, June 10, 2013.
2. President’s Cancer Panel, “Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now,” 2008–2009 Annual Report, US Department of Health and Human Services, April 2010, http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/annualReports/pcp08–09rpt/PCP_Report_08–09_508.pdf.
3. Cat Lazaroff, “Contaminated Texas Air Base Blamed for Neighbors’ Illnesses,” Environmental News Service, May 4, 2000; Ralph Vartabedian, “Cancer Stalks a ‘Toxic Triangle,’” Los Angeles Times, March 30, 2006; Steve Lerner, “San Antonio, Texas: Contamination from Kelly Air Force Base Is Suspected of Causing Sickness and Death Among Residents in Adjacent Latino Community,” Collaborative on Health and the Environment, August 23, 2007.
4. “Frank Vera,” in “Personal Accounts,” George Air Force Base, CA: Hazardous Toxic and Radioactive Waste, www.georgeafb.info/personal-accounts/frank-vera.
5. Steve Vogel, “VA Struggling with Disability Claims,” Washington Post, November 11, 2012; Aaron Glantz, “VA Number of Veterans Who Die Waiting for Benefits Claims Skyrockets,” Daily Beast, December 20, 2012, www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/20/number-of-veterans-who-die-waiting-for-benefits-claims-skyrockets.html; William R. Levesque, “VA Blasted for Dragging Feet on Aiding Camp Lejeune Families,” Tampa Bay Times, March 3, 2013, www.tampabay.com/news/military/veterans/VA-blasted-for-dragging-feet-on-aiding-camp-lejeune-families/1277317.
6. Sally Applegate, “Living One Victory at a Time,” North Andover (Mass.) Citizen, August 26, 2012, www.wickedlocal.com/northandover/news/x1733881279/Living-one-victory-at-a-time.
EPILOGUE
1. Dana Priest and Anne Hull, “Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration at Army’s Top Medical Facility,” Washington Post, February 18, 2007, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/17/AR2007021701172.html; Steve Vogel, “VA Struggling with Disability Claims,” Washington Post, November 11, 2012; Steve Vogel, “Petition Calls for Obama to Fire VA Secretary Shinseki,” Washington Post, August 21, 2013.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Jerry Ensminger usually signs off on his e-mails with a quote from scholar James Bryant Conant: “Behold the turtle, he only makes progress when he sticks his neck out . . . ” He and other former Marines, such as Tom Townsend, Jeff Byron, and Mike Gros—along with a true son of the Marine Corps, Mike Partain—have been sticking their necks out for years to demand justice and accountability from the Navy and the Marine Corps. Without their efforts, and their willingness to share their stories and information, this book would not have been possible.
Nor would it have come to fruition if not for the wise counsel and expert guidance of literary agent Ronald Goldfarb and editor Merloyd Lawrence, who both believed in this story from the beginning.
Finally, thanks to Denise, Sean, and Emma Rose for their patience, love, and understanding while I was focused on this book.
Index
ABC One-Hour Cleaners, 69–70, 86, 90, 99, 107–108, 169, 199
Adult-onset illness, 114–115
ATSDR study, 122
attributing to psychological causes, 40
parathyroid cancer, 154–155
scientific advisory panel recommendations, 158
survey results linking illnesses to, 187
See also Breast cancer in men
Advanced Base School, New London, Connecticut, 24–25
Advance-force training, 21–22, 26
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
adult-onset cancers, 116–117
benzene contamination, 210–211
breast cancer in men, 177–178, 207
Community Assistance Panel, 185
congressional funding, 209
contacting affected families, 113, 124
DoD opposition to childhood leukemia study, 108–109
DoD request for exemptions, 139–140
dry-cleaning solvents, 82
expanding study efforts in 2004, 152–155
flawed data and the underreporting of illnesses, 140–141
House Committee on Science and Technology hearing, 213–214
integrity of health studies, 140–141
Jeffords’s demands for data and accountability, 143
linking contamination to birth defects, 104–112
Marine Corps failure to cooperate with, 264–265
Marine Corps redacting water well information from ATSDR studies, 241–244
military ignoring contamination data, 163–164
mortality and cancer incidence studies, 193–194
Navy involvement in NAS study, 205–206
Navy stonewalling litigation claims, 233
Navy stonewalling study efforts, 191–192
Obama administration action, 194–195
Oversight Committee hearing, 166–167
political pressure on, 190–193, 253
Portier’s defense of study efforts, 257
request for DoD review of the PHA, 197–200
revising earliest date of contamination, 248–249
revising early study, 195–196
scientific panel findings and recommendations, 155–160
shifting the VA position on disability benefits, 218–219
survey completion and findings, 127–128, 187
2013 survey, 239–241
Vieques Island contamination, 207–208
See also Public Health Assessment
Agent Orange, 44
Air contamination, 92–93, 114–115
Air Force, US, TCE contamination and, 131
Akaka, Daniel, 208
Akers, Paul, 222–223
Alexander, Bob, 58–59, 67, 72, 85
Aloisio, Carol, 100–101
Alvarado, Robert, Sr., 255
Alviar, Lupe, Jr., 44
> American Revolution, 22
Amon, Tyler, 167
Amos, James, 251
Anderson, Henry, 132–133
Anencephaly, 37, 41, 127–128, 184, 186–187, 221
Aoyama, Stephen, 100
Aplastic anemia, 75–76
Arlington National Cemetery, 260
Armed Forces Epidemiological Board, 109
Army Environmental Hygiene Team, 46
Aschengrau, Ann, 203–204
Associated Press, 210
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 190
ATSDR. See Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Azar, Steve, 47
Babson, Bruce A., 51–52, 55
Bailey, J.R., 50
Baker, C.H., 91–92
Bankruptcy, 236–237
Barnett, George, 25–27
Barrett, Barbara, 209–211
Barton, Joe, 146, 148
Bashor, Mark, 104–107
Basketball court, contamination beneath, 58
Beach, Betty and Dave, 13, 15–16
Bennett, Kyla, 210
Benzene
ATSDR findings, 195–196
base command ignoring contamination, 198–200
benzene and solvents at Hadnot Point, 69–70
holding the Navy responsible for exposure, 235–236
lack of regulation, 33
leukemia connection to, 224
1980s water sampling, 55, 103
state government’s notification of violations, 83
understating contamination levels, 210
Berkeley Manor Elementary School, 71
Betz, Elizabeth, 45(quote), 48–50, 53, 55, 94
Birth defects, 44, 221–222
abundance of, 41
ATSDR investigation, 99, 101–111, 113, 127–128, 143
congressional action on studies, 184, 209
families’ litigation over, 233–234
Love Canal, 79–80
Marine Corps downplaying occurrence of, 224
multiple defects in families, 186–187
overriding ATSDR report, 139–140
PCE exposure, 37–40
Rachel Byron, 75
scientific panel investigation, 153
TCE and PCE role in, 129–131
USDHHS health survey, 123–124
See also Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Block, Brian, 205, 210–211
Blogs, 224, 226
Boling, Sharon Kay, 237
Bove, Frank, 128, 140, 185, 192–193, 201, 207
Boyle, Terrence, 235
BP oil spill, 265–266
Breast cancer in men, 173–182, 206–207, 212, 219–220, 224–225, 238, 246–247, 258, 261–262
Breed, Allen, 250
Bridges, Sandra, 159
Broun, Paul, 212–213
Buehl, L.H., 73, 76, 83
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED), 54, 235–236
Burr, Richard, 147–148, 196, 203, 208, 243, 245, 252–253, 260
Bush administration, 131–133, 137, 187–188, 257
Butler, Thomas, 27
Byron, Andrea, 62–63, 75–76, 123, 226
Byron, Jeff, 160
activism, 123–124
CAP, 159, 185–186
congressional hearing, 162–163
daughters’ illnesses and death, 61–63, 75–76
information gathering, 126–127
opinion of the Marine Corps, 260–261
scientific panel, 154
The Few, the Proud, the Forgotten, 226–227
Water Survivors rift, 226
Byron, Mary, 61–63, 75–76, 123
Byron, Rachel, 75, 123
Caldwell, Jane C., 131
Calendar fundraiser, 225
Camp Garcia (Puerto Rico), 11–13
Camp Johnson, 21, 59–60, 64
Camp Pendleton (California), 17, 144, 193–194, 258
Cancer
DoD opposition to EPA findings on TCE, 134
esophageal, 250
IRIS data, 188–190
Kelly Air Force Base victims, 255–256
linking benzene to, 224
linking TCE and PCE to, 214, 217–218, 223
medical bills, 231–232
multiple cases in families, 222–223
parathyroid, 154
scope of ATSDR study, 143
TCE and PCE role in, 129–131
T-cell chronic leukemia, 115–117
See also Breast cancer in men
Cancer incidence study, 193–194
Carbon Chloroform Extract (CCE) procedure, 54–55
Carbone, Sandra, 42–43, 121–123
Center for Public Environmental Oversight, 240, 256–257
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 82, 98–99, 116, 190–191, 194
CERCLA. See Superfund
Champlin, Richard, 116
Change.org, 247–248
Chemical agent test kits, 88–89
Chemical dumping
EPA citation for, 56
media spotlight on widespread occurrence of, 84–85
Navy assessment of contamination, 58–59
population growth contributing to, 82–83
water sampling in 1980–1981, 49–50
See also specific chemicals
Cheney, Dick, 131–132, 137
Children
aplastic anemia, 75–76
ATSDR study on illness in, 111–112, 122
day care siting on toxic waste dump, 57, 84, 102–103
EPA report on TCE toxicity, 132–135
leukemia, 66–67, 76–78, 127, 129, 147
long-term effects of exposure, 118
lymphoma, 127
scientific advisory panel recommendations, 158
TCE and PCE role in illness in, 129–131
TCE contamination at Berkeley Manor Elementary School, 71
unexplained illnesses, 62–63
See also Anencephaly; Birth defects; Spina bifida
Chlordane, 57, 84
Chloroform, 81
Churchill, Jeanetta, 106–107
A Civil Action (book and film), 110, 120, 156, 162
Civil rights era, 21
Civil War, American, 24–25
Clapp, Richard, 203–204, 206, 258
Clean Water Act (1972), 138
Cleanup, 85–95, 131. See also Superfund
Cleft lip/cleft palate, 127
Clinton, Bill, 131, 139
Clinton, Hillary, 184
CNN, 119, 176, 182, 206–207
Cogliano, V. James, 131, 133
Community Assistance Panel (CAP), 159
ATSDR inaction, 185
ATSDR study expansion, 193
cancer in multiple family members, 222–223
Frumkin’s “national conversation” about exposure, 195
Mike Partain’s breast cancer, 177–178
Partain and Ensminger’s information, 179
praise for efforts of, 258
rift among survivor groups, 227–229
website communication, 227
Compensation
disability claims, 218–222, 231–232, 260–262
family litigation against the Navy, 232–238
Feres Doctrine as obstacle to, 231–232, 238–239
formaldehyde contamination, 189–190
health care benefits, 208, 215, 244–248, 260, 264, 266
Jeff Byron’s claim for both children, 124
military response to claims, 118, 170, 181, 217–219, 223–224, 265
scientific advisory panel recommendations, 158–159
veterans’ disability benefits, 260
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). See Superfund
Congress, US, 161–162
DoD request for exemptions, 139–140, 145–148
Ensminger’s testimony, 77
Integrated Risk Information System, 188–190
Janey Ensminger Act, 230
Jeffords’s call for hearings, 142–143
legislation negotiations over health-care coverage, 244–248
Marine Corps downplaying impact of contamination, 241
Marine Corps redacting water well information from ATSDR studies, 242–244
Miller’s House Committee on Science and Technology hearing, 211–213
NAS study, 159–160
NRC study on contamination-illness link, 186
officials’ failure to shut off contaminated water supplies, 81–82
Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing, 161–166, 176–177
pressure for ATSDR study funding, 209
pressure for health care coverage, 208–209
pressure to grant disability payments, 219
response to Public Health Assessment, 196
scientific advisory panel recommendations for health studies, 158
Superfund, 80
survivor activism, 120–121
Congressional Budget Office (CBO), 246
Connally, John, 172
“Cover your ass” approach, 72–73
Criminal charges against the Navy, 167–169
Cuba, 24
Cunniff, Shannon, 134
Currey, Richard, 150
Cyanide, 88
Daily Beast newspaper, 125–126
Daniels, Josephus, 27
Daycare center, contamination at, 57, 84, 102–103
Defense, Department of (DoD)
ATSDR request for PHA review, 197–200
ATSDR scientific panel recommendations, 158–159
congressional negotiations for compensation legislation, 244–248
downplaying impact of TCE exposure, 240
health care for victims, 208–209
litigation against, 234–235
military role in assessing contamination risks, 190
opposition to EPA reports on TCE toxicity, 132–135
request for exemptions, 139–140, 145–148
response to benzene contamination, 197
stonewalling the ATSDR investigation, 104–112
Superfund sites, 80
victims’ dissatisfaction with, 260–261
See also Marine Corps/US Navy
Defense Manpower Data Center, 109
Devereaux, Fiona, 181
Devereaux, Peter, 179–181, 212, 219–220, 225, 262
Dichloro-diphenyl-dichloro-ethane (DDD), 57
Dichloro-diphenyl-dichloro-ethylene (DDE), 57
Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane (DDT), 57, 84, 88
Dichloroethylene (DCE), 47, 55, 69–70
Dickerson, Robert, Jr., 54, 164–166
Dingell, John, 137(quote), 145–147, 152, 161, 170, 209, 244, 251(quote), 254