"What happened here is really just a symptom of a much larger problem that we see all over this country."

-U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr., referring to a TCE-contaminated site in St. Louis

 

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Semper Fi, Always Faithful is a documentary that sheds light on the contamination of groundwater that occurred at the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. It follows some of the individuals, or their family members, who developed health effects ranging from childhood leukemia to male breast cancer as a result of exposure to toxic industrial solvents trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), and benzene, among others, through their drinking water.

Unfortunately, this is only one of many communities that has been affected by industrial contamination. Two other notable communities include Toms River, New Jersey and Woburn, Massachusetts, both of which experienced increased incidences of childhood leukemia due to TCE and other contaminants in drinking water. In both towns, engaged community members were primarily responsible for bringing awareness to these cancer clusters and for bringing action for remediation.