We really should support our troops, and its a damned shame if a Marine base was deliberately neglected at the expense of exposure for the men, women and children who lived and worked at this base.
Tim King
Salem-News.com
February 18, 2010
SEE ALSO: Danger of Marines’ water removed from report (AP)
(CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C.) – We have been writing for years about the plight of sick and dying Marines who were stationed at the now-closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Southern California, and the active base, Camp Lejuene in North Carolina. A few months ago, the DoD put together a panel of scientists who claimed that all previous data on Lejeune was no longer valid[1].
Since that point, senators and aggressive Veterans Advocates like former Camp Lejeune Marine Jerry Ensminger and Camp Lejeune breast cancer Survivor Mike Partain, have kept the pressure on government officials up. Soon there was another turnaround, as information surfaced that the Marines had essentially, paid for more favorable reports[2].
- A d v e r t i s e m e n t
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Today The Associated Press shocked the nation by revealing that, “An environmental contractor dramatically underreported the level of a cancer-causing chemical found in tap water at Camp Lejeune, then omitted it altogether as the Marine base prepared for a federal health review.”
The AP cites how the Marine Corps was warned nearly a decade earlier about the dangerously high levels of benzene. This chemical is connected to massive leaks from base fuel tanks, according to recently disclosed studies.
The truth as it was revealed today, is that Benzene has been killing these Marines, and the information was revealed through part of the broader, ongoing investigation of the contamination[6].
BENZENE: Benzene exposure linked to sperm abnormalities that cause birth defects.
Environmental Health News
Report Authors: Xing C, F Marchetti, G Li, RH Weldon, E Kurtovich, S Young, TE Schmid, L Zhang, S Rappaport, S Waidyanatha, AJ Wyrobek and B Eskenazi.
Published February 16, 2010
Synopsis by Heather Hamlin and Kim Harley, Ph.D.
Men exposed to benzene at levels close to the U.S. permissible limit are more likely to have an abnormal number of chromosomes in their sperm, researchers report in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Some sperm can develop with either too many or too few chromosomes. Known as aneuploidy, this can adversely impact fertility and fetal development. Aneuploidy (in either the sperm or the egg) is the largest known cause of miscarriages in people.
This study of male factory workers in China has linked benzene exposure to aneuploidy in the men’s sperm.
What did they do?
Researchers enrolled 66 men working in factories in Tianjin, China. Thirty-three men were recruited from factories that used benzene-containing adhesives to produce shoes, paper bags and sandpaper. These men were considered exposed to benzene. The researchers also enrolled 33 men who worked in a meat packing plant and an ice cream factory and were not exposed to benzene.
What did they find?
The researchers found that as men’s benzene exposure becomes higher, the number of sperm they produce with an extra sex chromosome also increases.
What does it mean?
Men exposed to benzene at work have a two or three times higher risk for having abnormal numbers of chromosomes in their sperm than men who have not been exposed to the chemical. These associations were seen at benzene levels lower than previously reported.
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