Why is there a comprehensive document search at Camp Lejeune?
The Marine Corps conducted multiple searches aboard Camp Lejeune for documents that may relate to the drinking water issue. Frustratingly, after each search more documents would surface. To address this problem, the Marine Corps hired a private contractor to conduct a comprehensive search of the entire Base. This is a daunting task as it would be equivalent to looking at every piece of paper in a small city. The contractor developed a set of search criteria designed to identify any document even remotely related to this issue and then conducted a search of the entire Base. Both ATSDR and the GAO had full access to the documents the contractor retrieved in their search. The Marine Corps’ goal is to consolidate all pertinent documents in one location to expedite responses to requests from other agencies.
