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The major water contaminants at Camp Lejeune include TCE, PCE, benzene and vinyl chloride, and there have also been recorded instances of potentially unsafe levels of toluene, DCE, ethylbenzene and xylene.

TCE (or trichloroethylene), used by the military for decades as a degreaser for vehicles and other equipment, is considered a "known human carcinogen" by the California Environmental Protection Agency. The National Toxicology Program, a part of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, says it is "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen." The federal EPA calls it a "probable human carcinogen" and has for years refused to classify it as a known carcinogen, at one point sponsoring an inconclusive peer review of the scientific literature that was heavily criticized as too costly and time-consuming. Water used by residents of Camp Lejeune sometimes contained TCE concentrations hundreds of times greater than the national drinking water standard of five parts per billion.

PCE (or perchloroethylene), another degreasing chemical, is also classified by the EPA as a probable human carcinogen. Benzene, a solvent and once-common gasoline additive, and vinyl chloride, an ingredient in PVC pipes and other products, are both considered known human carcinogens by the EPA and international environmental health bodies.