ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

NCEH/ATSDR To Host Meeting To Determine Need For Additional Studies at
U.S. Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

News Release
For Immediate Release: December 21, 2004

ATLANTA - The Office of Science of the National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (NCEH/ATSDR) will convene an expert panel to explore opportunities for conducting additional human health studies of people previously exposed to contaminated drinking water at the U.S. Marine Corps Base at Camp Lejeune, N.C. The panel will also provide scientific input on the feasibility and usefulness of conducting these studies. The meeting will be held Feb. 17 and 18, 2005, and will be open to the public.

People who lived at Camp Lejeune during 1968 to1985 may have been exposed to drinking water contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE). ATSDR has conducted several public health activities to find out if these chemicals had adverse health effects on Camp Lejeune residents. Information about TCE and PCE, health effects linked with these chemicals and ATSDR activities at Camp Lejeune can be found at www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune.

The meeting will be held at the NCEH/ATSDR office, 1825 Century Center Blvd., Atlanta. This is an open meeting and pre-registration is required. Members of the public will have the opportunity to provide comments at the meeting or submit written statements. To register, call Peer Review Coordinator Athena Gemella at 404-498-0621 or submit your online pre-registration at www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune by Feb. 7, 2005. Written statements identifying concerns or describing other key issues the expert panel should consider will also be accepted. These statements will be provided to the expert panel for review before the meeting and must be received by close of business on Jan. 21, 2005. [Meeting Agenda and Panel Members] [Expert Panel]

Statements should not exceed three single-spaced pages and can be mailed to:
Dr. Drue H. Barrett, Acting Associate Director for Science
NCEH/ATSDR Office of Science
1600 Clifton Road N.E., Mail Stop E-28
Atlanta, GA 30333

Written statements can also be faxed to 404-498-0059, Attn: Drue Barrett, Acting Associate Director for Science.

For more information about this expert panel, please contact Athena Gemella at 404-498-0621.

Established by Congress in 1980 under the Superfund law, ATSDR conducts public health assessments at each of the sites on the EPA National Priorities List, as well as other sites when petitioned. Headquartered in Atlanta, ATSDR is staffed by more than 400 health professionals including epidemiologists, physicians, toxicologists, engineers and public health educators.

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[Meeting Agenda and Panel Members] [Expert Panel]
Members of the news media can request an interview with ATSDR staff by calling the ATSDR Office of Communication at 770-488-0700.