Scan shows 'anomaly' underground in Bethpage park where 16 chemical drums were unearthed
Excavation at Bethpage Community Park in Bethpage on April 16. Officials say scans show an unknown object in the ground. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
State officials said ground-penetrating radar scans Monday at Bethpage Community Park confirmed an unknown object buried underground at the former Grumman Aerospace dumping ground.
The findings come after 16 chemical drums embedded in three concrete layers were removed from the ground under the park's former ballfield, beginning in early April. Officials said they would not dig for the object until a plan is developed and approved by the state for further excavation.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation said Tuesday that Northrop Grumman contractors completed an underground survey of the ballfield area the day before and confirmed one “anomaly” that will be further investigated.
It was not clear what the scan identified on the site, which is outside the immediate dig area, officials said. The DEC previously thought the one anomaly was three separate anomalies based on earlier scans.
“It’s clear that Bethpage Park was a dumping ground for Grumman and all should expect more contamination to be found once the remaining property is scanned and additional soil samples taken,” Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino said in a statement.
Last week, state and town officials said equipment issues at the facility being used to test soil and the chemical drums had delayed lab results.
Initial tests showed the first six drums contained waste petroleum and chlorinated solvents including trichloroethylene (TCE), a known carcinogen.
Grumman contractors discovered the first layer of drums when they drilled a well to monitor an existing soil treatment system at the public park. Grumman had donated land for the park to the town in 1962, and undisclosed contamination was found in the soil in 2002. Oyster Bay sued Grumman Aerospace, the corporate predecessor of Northrop Grumman, over the pace of the ongoing remediation effort at the park.
Toxic dumping at the site was found to be a significant contributor to a carcinogenic chemical plume that is more than 4 miles long, 2 miles wide and 900 feet deep. The plume continues to move south on Long Island at the rate of about a foot per day, Newsday has reported.
Joseph Ostapiuk covers the Town of Oyster Bay and the City of Glen Cove. He joined Newsday in 2023 after spending more than six years at the Staten Island Advance/SILive.com.
