WASHINGTON (CNN)  -- A man who was raised at Camp Lejeune told lawmakers Thursday that he blames contaminated water at the U.S. Marines training base for his breast cancer.



Government records show decades of contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.



Michael Partain, who was diagnosed two years ago at the age of 39, told the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs that his parents were stationed at the base in North Carolina when he was born.



At least 40 former U.S. Marines or sons of Marines who lived at Camp Lejeune have been diagnosed with the cancer that strikes fewer than 2,000 men a year, compared with about 200,000 women.



The committee hearing was focused on exposure by military personnel to hazardous materials in the United States, Japan and Iraq, including toxic smoke from burn pits in Iraq and contaminated water.



Partain said that during his mother's pregnancy, the family was exposed to high levels of tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, dichloroethylene, benzene and vinyl chloride in the tap water at the military base.



"I am one of about 40 men who share this unique commonality of male breast cancer and exposure to contaminated tap water [at] Camp Lejeune," he told the committee.



The Marines with breast cancer served or lived at Camp Lejeune between the 1960s and 1980s. Government records show that the camp's water was contaminated for three decades.



Although the Marine Corps contends that two independent studies have found no link between water contamination and later illnesses, the men facing a debilitating and possibly lethal disease don't believe it.



Partain said his illness has been been a "traumatic, emotional and physical" ordeal for his family.



Two North Carolina senators -- Richard Burr, the ranking Republican on the committee, and Kay Hagan, a Democrat who is not a panel member -- are pushing legislation that would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to cover the medical costs of Marines and their families who were exposed to the contaminated water.



The provision, which has passed the Senate, would amend the Defense Appropriations Bill to prohibit the Navy from "disposing of water-contamination claims before critical scientific studies can be completed."



According to Hagan, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is conducting human health and water modeling studies to determine whether the toxic water contributed to health problems at the base.



Some of the water was contaminated with toxins at concentrations up to 280 times what is currently considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency, Hagan said. The bill covers the period between 1957 and 1987.



"I think it should be our mission to give these families complete answers," she said. "They can't get closure until the remaining CDC studies, which are in progress, are complete."



Sen. Roland Burris, D-Illinois, added, "I am deeply concerned about possible environmental hazards in places where we are fighting two wars."



He and other senators agreed that current military personnel and veterans should not have to battle red tape to get health care and benefits.



Russell Powell, a medic with the 1092nd West Virginia Army National Guard, said that from April 2003 to June 2004, the unit was assigned to the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant in Basra, Iraq, to provide security for contractors with KBR, an engineering and construction company hired by the Defense Department to provide services in Iraq.



When the platoon reached the plant, they found it in disarray and coated with orange-colored dust, he testified. Large bags of the dust had been ripped open, and frequent dust storms blew through the facility, he said.



At no time were the security guards offered protective clothing, masks or respirators, Powell said.



After a few weeks, several soldiers began getting lesions on their hands, arms, faces and nostrils.



"As a medic, I felt very concerned for the safety and health of persons exposed. I questioned one of the KBR workers, and he told me that his supervisors told him not to worry about it, that we were allergic to sand and dust
who testifies about exposure in Iraq? What was stationed at base when he was born? who was exposed to chemicals? What type of cancer did the man experience after the exposure? What type of exposure occured in Iraq? Who was exposed to chemicals in tap water? who was diagnosed with breast cancer?
Michael Partain, his parents Michael Partain, breast by military personnel to hazardous materials Michael Partain, Michael Partain,
question: who testifies about exposure in Iraq?, answer: Michael Partain, | question: What was stationed at base when he was born?, answer: his parents | question: who was exposed to chemicals?, answer: Michael Partain, | question: What type of cancer did the man experience after the exposure?, answer: breast | question: What type of exposure occured in Iraq?, answer: by military personnel to hazardous materials | question: Who was exposed to chemicals in tap water?, answer: Michael Partain, | question: who was diagnosed with breast cancer?, answer: Michael Partain,