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Do Chemicals Cause Breast Cancer? Tell it to the Marines!

February 3, 2011
1:00 pm US Eastern Time

Slides & Resources

12/5/13: 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

EPA Science Advisory Board: IRIS Assessment for Trichloroethylene

The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten: The purpose of this site is to help provide information about the toxic water contamination aboard US Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.

Art beCAUSE: Marines shoot calendar for male breast cancer research

Camp Lejeune in the News

Former Marine sues over Camp Lejeune water contamination, The Sun News, January 2011

Camp Lejeune breast cancer survivors try to raise awareness, St. Petersburg Times, Sept 2010
Tthis article contains information on the calendar the men created to raise awareness about the Camp Lejeune cancer cluster.

Camp Lejeune residents blame rare cancer cluster on water , Los Angeles Times, Aug 2009

40 men from Camp Lejeune now report breast cancer, St. Petersburg Times, Oct 2009

Listen to Recording

Mike Partain and Jim Fontella have breast cancer. Mike lived at Camp Lejeune while his father was stationed there with the United States Marines. Jim is a Marine who served at Camp Lejeune. They are among over sixty marines and their dependents who developed male breast cancer after being exposed to contaminated drinking water at the Marine base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The camp was the site of what is believed to be the largest drinking water chemical contamination event in US history. For decades, from the 1950s to the mid to late 1980s, drinking water was contaminated with trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, benzene and other chlorinated chemicals from base activities and leaks from a civilian dry cleaning establishment adjacent to the base. Now the health consequences of this contamination on marines, their dependents, and civilians who worked on the base are becoming clear. In addition to national media coverage, these events were the subject of Congressional hearings on September 16, 2010. 

Mike Partain and Jim Fontella were featured on a this CHE call to talk about their experiences in bringing their situation to public attention and their attempts to get compensation for affected marines and families. CHE Partner Dick Clapp has been a member of the Camp Lejeune Community Assistance Panel for the past five years and discussed ongoing health studies.

The was moderated by Michael Lerner, President of Commonweal.