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.