The North Carolina News Network - Fighting To Protect Marines And Their Families
Written by Ellen Reinhardt
(RALEIGH)-Along with U.S. Senators Richard Burr and Kay Hagan, U.S. Rep. Brad Miller announces the introduction of The Janey Ensminger Act to require the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide health care to veterans and their family members who have experienced adverse health effects as a result of exposure to contaminated well water at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
The bill is named for Janey Ensminger, a 9-year old girl who died from childhood Leukemia in 1985 after being exposed to the water at Camp Lejeune while in utero. Her father, 24-year Marine Corps veteran Jerry Ensminger and tireless advocate for military families, will also speak at Tuesday’s press conference.
The House legislation is modeled after S 1518, The Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act of 2009 which is being championed in the Senate by Senators Richard Burr and Kay Hagan.
Marines and their families who lived at Camp Lejeune between 1957 and 1987 drank and bathed in water contaminated by various “known human carcinogens” including Trichloroethylene (TCE) and Tetrachloroethylene (PCE), benzene and vinyl chloride. In some cases the contamination was as high as 280 times what is currently regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act.
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