Additional information
by Tim King (Contribution by), Robert O'Dowd (Author)
A Few Good Men, Too Many Chemicals is an investigative report of U.S. Marines who were exposed to organic solvents, benzene, radiation, and other carcinogens in their drinking water and through dermal contact and inhalation while working with toxic chemicals without protective clothing and face masks. Thousands of veterans and their families were once stationed at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, CA, the premier Marine Corps jet fighter base, until closed in July 1999. Dioxin 2,3,7,8 TCDD was reported at six sites, and is listed as a probable contaminant of concern by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). Dioxin is the toxic component in Agent Orange. A Radium 226 paint room in Hangar 296 contaminated the work space in one portion of this huge hangar (200,000 sq. feet), forcing the Navy to remediate the contaminants before turning the hangar over to local authorities. Remediation by a Navy contractor continued as of 2015. A Trichloroethylene (TCE) plume from Hangars 296 and 297 cut a path through the base wells into Orange County's principal aquifer. TCE is a known carcinogen. At Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, NC, the base wells were contaminated with organic solvents from 1953 to 1987 with an estimated one million people exposed to trichloroethylene (TCE), benzene and other toxic chemicals. Legislation to provide health care for Camp Lejeune, an active military installation, was passed in the 112th Congress. In September 2016, Lejeune veterans were eligible for presumptive VA disability compensation for eight health conditions linked to toxic exposure in the base wells. Marines have died without 'connecting the dots' between their killing diseases and military service. There is no VA health care and presumptive disability compensation for El Toro veterans. El Toro Marines have fight the battle for VA benefits, one Marine at a time. These two bases are part of the 130 military bases on the EPA Superfund database, the most toxic environments in the US. See: https: //www.amazon.com/Few-Good-Men-Many-Chemicals/dp/1542442397 and http: //www.envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/public/profile_report?global_id=30970003.
Author Biography
Robert O'Dowd is a former U.S. Marine with thirty years of experience as an auditor, accountant, and financial manager with the Defense Department. After the Marines, Robert graduated with a BBA from Temple University. Originally from Pennsylvania, he enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 19, served in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Marine Aircraft Wings in 52 months of active duty in the 1960s. Robert graduated from Parris Island and went immediately to Infantry Training Regiment at Camp Geiger (part of the Camp Lejeune complex). Most of the men in his boot camp platoon were assigned to the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune. The wells at Lejeune were contaminated with toxic organic solvents and benzene for over 30 years and when this became a national news story in 1985, he thought that he narrowly escaped exposure to deadly contaminants. He soon learned otherwise. He spent 20 months in the most contaminated portion of MCAS El Toro, an EPA Superfund base, working and sleeping in a Radium 226 contaminated hangar, and drinking/showering in water contaminated with organic solvents, benzene and other toxic chemicals. Between El Toro's contaminated well water and the radiation in Hangar 296, he has been seriously ill since 1986, surviving three cancers. He is a disabled veteran.
