Please allow me the opportunity to set the record straight on several of the issues covered in your March 9, 2010 article concerning Camp Lejeune historic drinking water. This and other recent articles published by McClatchy Newspapers and the AP contain many inaccuracies that confuse an already complex issue.

      First, I want to assure the public, without any reservation, that the drinking water at Camp Lejeune is safe. We have and will continue to comply with all Federal drinking water standards. It is critical to note that when we received notification of the benzene detection in 1984, the well was immediately shut down, and has never again been used.

      Your article suggests that the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) did not have access to reports that documented benzene contamination at a well in Camp Lejeune. In fact, ATSDR did have access to the benzene information. We know this because the benzene detection was referenced in a 1994 draft of ATSDR’s Camp Lejeune Public Health Assessment, and also in a subsequent study. The benzene detection also has been publicly available in the Onslow County Library since 1992, and online since 1999.

      The Marine Corps has made every effort to ensure that all information in our possession is available to ATSDR researchers and we will continue to do so. We are absolutely committed to using the best science to get our Marines and Sailors, their family members, and former residents the answers they deserve.

                     Semper fidelis,

                 E. G. PAYNE
                               Major General, USMC
                                             Assistant Deputy Commandant
                                                    Installations and Logistics (Facilities)