For at least 35 years, people who lived and worked on Camp Lejeune were drinking dangerously contaminated water.
The chemicals came from leaking fuel tanks, an off-base dry cleaning business and quite possibly other sources as well.
Ingestion of those substances is dangerous and can produce a host of severe illnesses, including leukemia, aplastic anemias, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Parkinson’s disease.
And indeed, thousands of former service members and base civilians have developed those illnesses and others that may be related to the water contamination.
Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said last week that at least 4,400 claims totaling $963 billion have been filed.
That’s astonishing and deeply disappointing, although certainly without precedent.
But those are certainly not the only ones that medical research has connected with longterm ingestion of those chemicals —and civilian employees and service members’ families were exposed as well.
Spencer may be right that law limits federal liability for the illnesses.
A North Carolina law puts a 10-year statute of limitations on such cases, a federal law limits government liability unless actual negligence is found, and a Supreme Court decision rules that the federal government isn’t liable for injuries to military members hurt while on duty.
And Congress needs to act as well, providing relief for the thousands of Marines, civilians and families whose lives were tragically disrupted because the government failed to adequately test the water on Camp Lejeune for safety.

CHITUNGWIZA residents said they were battling a myriad of service delivery challenges, which include uncollected garbage, erratic water supplies, burst sewers, and have given up hope of getting normal services from the local authority.
In separate interviews, the residents said the local authority was not attending to their concerns and many homes were littered with waste.
“Council said they had no gloves to attend to the sewers.
It is not good, particularly with children around,” Mathews Gwata, who lives in St Mary’s, said.
Some parts of Zengeza 5 have gone for weeks without garbage collection.
Residents are now dumping their rubbish in skip bins at shopping centres or at illegal sites.
The last cholera outbreak, which emanated in Glen View resulted in deaths of more than 50 people and hundreds more infected.
Government and stakeholders responded by launching a cholera vaccination campaign, targeting 1,4 million people in high risk areas.
It is caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with a bacterium called vibrio cholera.
This disease thrives where there is a lack of clean water, inadequate sanitation, poor hygiene and overcrowding.

Kisumu Water and Sewerage Company (Kiwasco) has advised its clients against treating tap water with chlorine to avoid consuming too much of the chemical.
Kiwasco, in a message to more than 200,000 clients, said it had taken sufficient measures to treat the water abstracted from Lake Victoria, which is reeling from pollution due to rotting water hyacinth.
Years of infestation of the weed in the Winam Gulf, from where Kiwasco extracts water at Dunga Beach, has led to a rise in iron levels in the water.
Kiwasco said it had increased its treatment regimen of the heavily contaminated water and warned that further treatment at home could turn the water brown and expose users to ill health.
“We therefore advise customers not to post-chlorinate Kiwasco water, as this will lead to coloration of the water.
Growing concern Although the firm explained that the iron in the water pumped into homes was within accepted levels, concern grew over the accuracy of the claims.
SEE ALSO :Nyong’o office could claim more in budget Iron overload in the body can lead to liver, heart and pancreatic damage, as well as diabetes.
Early symptoms include fatigue, weight loss, and joint pain.
Excessive iron is never recommended for digestion; it can lead to stomach problems, nausea, vomiting and other issues, reads an article by the World Health Organisation.
Mr Odongo said rotting hyacinth used up oxygen on the water and released toxic metals such as iron, adding that aeration and removal of the metal was proving costly.

A study showing a link between nitrate levels in drinking water and rates of bowel cancer should concern people living in areas of New Zealand where nitrates are high, write Mike Joy and Michael Baker.
Last year, a Danish study reported a link between nitrate in drinking water and the risk of developing colorectal (bowel) cancer.
This finding could have important implications for New Zealanders.
Recent data show also that drinking water supplies in some parts of New Zealand have nitrate levels more than three times higher than the threshold level for colorectal cancer risk identified in the Danish study.
This study and other research raise an important question about the contribution nitrate exposure through drinking water may be making to New Zealand’s high rates of bowel cancer.
It included 2.7 million people over 23 years and monitored their individual nitrate exposure levels and colorectal cancer rates.
The research found a statistically significant increase in colorectal cancer risk at 0.87ppm (parts per million) of nitrate-nitrogen in drinking water.
One key implication is that the current nitrate standard for drinking water used in most countries, including New Zealand, is probably too high.
The findings are consistent with data from the regional council Environment Canterbury.
In conclusion, surface water in many parts of New Zealand is highly contaminated with nitrates as a result of intensified farming.

The Yass Valley Council has been trying for years to tackle the problem of clean fill from Canberra’s building sites being dumped over the border in NSW, and warned it could hit the region’s water supply, roads and environment.
The latter is currently the site of five approved dump sites.
In a more recent report to council on a development application, Canberra construction companies were said to be avoiding the high cost of clean fill disposal in the ACT by dumping thousands of tonnes of fill just over the border in NSW.
Instead the company responsible will be required to pay the council $2110 as a contribution towards maintaining Kaveneys Road, where the farm is located, due to the increased truck movements.
The 2016 report said the amount of trucks from Canberra laden with clean fill was having a detrimental impact on the council’s roads.
Loading The 2016 report said the exported material from Canberra had the risk of infesting NSW local government areas with weeds.
The report made two recommendations, which have been followed by the NSW and ACT governments.
Mr Berry said suggestions to introduce a certification system for the clean fill had been met by the ACT government.
Previously developers were allowed to dump 600 millimetres of clean fill without approval, but in a loophole, there was no limit on volume nor the area of fill, other than the property’s size.
An ACT government spokeswoman said there was no risk to Canberra’s water supply from the clean fill dumping in Yass.

U.S. Rep Debbie Wasserman Schultz and 12 other members of Florida’s delegation wrote to two top congressmen last week, requesting their committee to press the Environmental Protection Agency on what it is going to do to regulate chemical contamination in drinking water.
A spokesman for Wasserman Schultz said her office sought support for the letter from the entire 27-member delegation.
“We respectfully request that you inquire about EPA’s efforts to establish a drinking water standard for PFOS and PFOA and ask how EPA can improve its oversight and support of state drinking water programs,” she wrote.
“Because these are not yet regulated contaminants, a proper system for monitoring, regulating, and sending notifications for contamination events is not yet in place.” Webster said he didn’t sign because he believes the responsibility falls to Florida’s departments of environmental protection and health.
He made clear that the regulation of PFOS and PFOA, as well as the investigation into contamination, is their responsibility alone.
“We have had several discussions with local and state officials about the issue of water quality in and around the Ocala fire college,” said Yoho’s deputy chief of staff, Kat Cammack.
“We have also consulted with the Florida DEP on potential solutions moving forward.
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(KEVN) – Three months ago Ellsworth Air Force Base announced that some residential wells were contaminated, and surrounding residents are still dealing with the issue.
We spoke with one Box Elder woman to find out how her family is getting by.
But a few months ago, Ellsworth Air Force Base told Maynard her water is contaminated with high levels of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, better known as PFOS.
After three rounds of testing, Ellsworth Air Force Base sampled 68 wells, and 15 of them have high levels of PFOS and PFOA.
The base told her firefighting foam runoff caused the contamination of her water."
NanCee Maynard says, "I’m really disappointed.
We’re neighbors out here.
When it was save the base, we all jumped in and did what we could, wrote our letters, helped them save the base, helped them have a living and a healthy lifestyle.
The long-term solution is hooking affected residents up to city water.
NanCee Maynard says, "If it’s Box Elder, since we’re outside the city limits, we would have double user fees."

The environmental consultant tasked with evaluating the extent of PFAS contamination in private wells south of the Martha’s Vineyard Airport filed an action plan with the state over the weekend outlining short and long-term solutions to the contamination, including the installation of water filtration systems in affected homes.
The immediate response plan was filed by airport consultant Tetra Tech following the determination that 13 private wells out of 96 tested south of the airport since November contained elevated levels of PFAS.
PFAS can pose dangers to human health when ingested.
PFAS concentrations found in private wells in the initial phase of Tetra Tech’s investigation ranged widely, from none detected in the majority of the 96 private wells to more than 800 parts per trillion (ppt) in several, far exceeding safe limits of 70 parts per trillion as outlined in state Department of Environmental Protection guidelines.
The report identifies six of the 13 properties containing PFAS levels that could pose an immediate health hazard.
For a longer term solution, Tetra Tech will begin installing point of entry (POE) water treatment systems in up to 26 properties beginning in February.
Tetra Tech first tested the efficacy of the POE system in December on one private well with PFAS levels over 70 ppt and found that after two weeks, levels plummeted to 2 ppt, an overall reduction of more than 99.9 per cent.
The report also explains that no specific actions are currently planned for the mitigation of PFAS that’s infiltrated the soil and water where firefighting foam was released at the airport, citing the need for further evaluation.
In the meantime, the FAA-mandated foam tests will continue at the airport on a yearly basis with the foam being discharged into a containment tank on the property.
The entire initial site investigation is expected to be completed by November.

We are all dependent on water, and here in Wisconsin, almost 40 percent of households rely on private wells.
Regular water quality testing can be one way to bring peace of mind.
Earlier this year, a groundwater study reported that 42 percent of southwest Wisconsin wells were contaminated with hazardous materials.
Wells contaminated with bacteria, nitrates and heavy metals can lead to various issues such as nausea and diarrhea.
Drinking contaminated water during pregnancy can also cause serious issues such as brain malformation in infants.
This suggests that well contamination may not be just a regional or isolated issue.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recommends private well owners test their water on an annual basis.
Changes to the color, taste or smell of one’s water can also warrant additional testing.
Currently, there is one in St. Croix County and one in Dunn County.
Self-testing kits are also available online and at certain retail stores, with prices starting at about $25.

Sydney building owners have been warned to guard against legionnaires disease outbreaks by checking their water cooling towers, after four people contracted the condition.
The four individuals contracted the legionnaires strain Legionella pneumophilia, which is commonly found in contaminated water cooling towers in large buildings, NSW Health reported on Wednesday.
They had all spent time in the CBD over the past month, but this may have been a coincidence.
The health department reminded building owners and occupiers of their obligation to maintain and clean their water cooling systems for air conditioning plants.
In 2016, 15 people contracted the pneumonia-like condition after visiting the Sydney CBD during two separate outbreaks linked to two water cooling towers.
Executive director of health protection, Dr Jeremy McAnulty said that while no source of these four infections has been identified, precautions are being taken.
Legionnaires’ disease occurs after a person breathes in contaminated water or dust and outbreaks have been associated with the air conditioning units used in large buildings.
“People who develop this disease are diagnosed by chest X-ray and a urine test and usually require antibiotic treatment in hospital," Dr McAnulty said.
Public Health Units in Local Health Districts across NSW follow up every case of Legionnaires’ disease.
In response to the 2016 outbreaks, NSW Health strengthened the Public Health Regulation, requiring building owners to conduct monthly tests on cooling towers and notify high levels of Legionella and other bacteria to local councils.