The Navy and Marines have withheld critical documents about toxic pollution near Camp Lejeune, says the U. S. Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry.

The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times has reported that the agency, in a March 22 letter, ordered military officials to produce missing documents by April 15. Agency investigators say they now have access to the databases they need.

Scientists are trying to determine whether as many as 1 million U. S. Marines and their families were exposed to carcinogenic substances in the water at the North Carolina base between 1957 and 1987. Among the documents allegedly withheld was one describing spills of 400,000 and 1 million gallons of fuel at the base.

Jerry Ensminger serves on two advisory committees. He is a former drill instructor at Camp Lejeune and his daughter died of leukemia in 1985.

Ensminger said, "This is catch me if you can. The Marine Corps just wants to delay ATSDR's work as long as they possibly can."

No documents have been withheld and the Marines only want the investigation to be completed as soon as possible, Capt. Brian Block, a Marine Corps spokesman, said. (With Inputs from Agencies)