U. S. Marine Corps denies that officials disregarded warnings about contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, N. C., for years.

The Observer said on Sunday in an exclusive report that thousands of Marines and their families drank, cooked and bathed in water laced with dangerous chemicals. When outside contractors raised concerns base officials ignored their warnings or ordered more tests, the newspaper said, citing documents.

The newspaper further said that the most contaminated wells shut down in 1984, more than four years after the first of repeated warnings.

Mike Hargett, a contractor who had raised questions about the water in 1982 and 1983, said, "The kind part of me wants to say (the Marines) took a while to figure it out. The unkind part says somebody was sloppy and negligent."

It's hard to figure out what was or was not done in response to warnings because the record remains incomplete, the Marine Corps says.

Marine spokesman Capt. Brian Block said, "Just because it's not in the record doesn't mean something wasn't done."

The contamination, which sparked a congressional investigation, is suspected of sickening thousands of people. The U. S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry is investigating to try to determine the illnesses are linked to the water.

Federal scientists had sent the sent the Navy and Marines letters last month saying the military has yet to turn over all documentation related to the contamination. The Marines denied withholding documents, the Observer further said.

The chemicals that contaminated the water included benzene, a fuel component and known carcinogen, as well as the chlorinated organic solvents trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene, both linked to liver and central nervous system damage. (With Inputs from Agencies)