Dole: Senate approves plan to notify Lejeune water users

RALEIGH (AP) — The Senate has approved a measure requiring the Navy to notify all military, civilian and dependents who were at Camp Lejeune when harmful chemicals were in the base water system.

Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole said babies exposed to the contamination developed birth defects and cancers. The contaminated wells at the eastern North Carolina base were closed in 1987.

The amendment would require the Navy to notify people and their families who were at the base between 1958 and 1987. Notifications are to be expanded to national media after a year and a survey is to be conducted to determine the health status of those people.

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