Why wasn’t information provided to ATSDR earlier?
The Marine Corps always made all of its documents (save privileged attorney work product) available to ATSDR and remains committed to doing so. We have always sought to provide a timely response to ATSDR’s request for documents within our control. The Marine Corps hired a private contractor to conduct a search of the entire Base (the size of a small city) to ensure we have all respective documents accounted for. The ATSDR also has full access to the documents retrieved.In cases where documents ATSDR requested were not within the control of the Marine Corps, we have directed ATSDR to the pertinent agency/authority responsible for the requested records. When appropriate, we also facilitate contact between the controlling agency and ATSDR. Controlling agencies may be prevented from releasing the requested information due to federal law (e.g., Privacy Act, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).
