Digging underway for 'anomalies' in Bethpage park where 16 chemical drums were unearthed
Northrop Grumman contractors began digging Monday for possible underground objects detected by ground-penetrating radar scans at Bethpage Community Park where chemical drums have been unearthed, town and state officials said Tuesday.
The objects, which state officials have referred to as "potential anomalies,” were discovered after 16 concrete-encased chemical drums were discovered at the former Grumman Aerospace dumping ground and removed from the park last month, Newsday reported previously. The state Department of Environmental Conservation said in a statement Monday that the objects were found at two separate locations in the ballfield area where Northrop Grumman contractors are involved in an ongoing remediation effort.
A Newsday photographer on Tuesday observed a dig site about 50 feet from the pit where the chemical drums were removed. The new dig site is about 2 feet wide by 10 feet long, said Brian Nevin, an Oyster Bay spokesman.
The contractors' "exploration of these two anomalies in the ballfield area is underway,” the DEC said Monday. State officials on Tuesday did not provide details about the underground objects.
Grumman contractors in late March discovered the first layer of concrete-encased drums under the park’s former ballfields while drilling a well to check an existing soil sampling system at the park. Two other layers of drums were found in the following days.
Initial tests showed the first six drums contained waste petroleum and chlorinated solvents including trichloroethylene (TCE), a known carcinogen.
The DEC on Monday said it is reviewing drum and soil samples taken from the pit. The agency previously said equipment issues at a laboratory to process those results caused delays.
The Town of Oyster Bay on Monday said it conducted its own soil testing and found "elevated" levels of chromium, according to Nevin.
The state DEC has said results from soil and drum samples show petroleum hydrocarbons, metals such as chromium, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated solvents.
State officials said those results are expected since the drums were found in the former settling pond areas used by Grumman when it was in operation.
DEC said Monday lab results and direct inspection of the drums indicated that they did not leak their contents. The contaminants detected in the soil, including chromium levels, the agency said, are “well within the range of concentrations identified during the ongoing cleanup and investigation in other areas of the park.”
The DEC also said Monday blue, discolored soil observed at the park pit where the chemical drums were removed has been found throughout the cleanup and is expected to be addressed during the ongoing remediation. The DEC said Grumman used the site "as a series of settling ponds and sludge drying beds," causing the contamination.
Photos of the soil were displayed at a Bethpage rally where residents expressed frustration at the pace of the cleanup.
DEC interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said in a statement last week the agency is “not pleased with what we found at the ballfield,” referring to the chemical drums, adding the agency is overseeing the work at the site “to make sure that there isn’t a risk to public health and the environment.”
Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino said Monday, "From chemical drums buried beneath the park to clear evidence of toxic soil under our feet, environmental regulatory agencies have all the proof needed to hold Grumman accountable,” adding that Northrop Grumman “must remove all contaminated soil from the property, truck it off Long Island and restore our park for the people of Bethpage.”
Northrop Grumman, the corporate successor to Grumman Aerospace, did not comment on the latest stage of digging at the park. The company said in a statement last week it “remains committed to working with all stakeholders to provide scientifically sound remediation efforts that continue to protect the health of the community and the environment.”
Grumman donated land for the park to the town in 1962 and contamination was found in the soil in 2002. The town sued the company last year over the pace and thoroughness of the cleanup.
With Nicholas Spangler and John Paraskevas
Northrop Grumman contractors began digging Monday for possible underground objects detected by ground-penetrating radar scans at Bethpage Community Park where chemical drums have been unearthed, town and state officials said Tuesday.
The objects, which state officials have referred to as "potential anomalies,” were discovered after 16 concrete-encased chemical drums were discovered at the former Grumman Aerospace dumping ground and removed from the park last month, Newsday reported previously. The state Department of Environmental Conservation said in a statement Monday that the objects were found at two separate locations in the ballfield area where Northrop Grumman contractors are involved in an ongoing remediation effort.
A Newsday photographer on Tuesday observed a dig site about 50 feet from the pit where the chemical drums were removed. The new dig site is about 2 feet wide by 10 feet long, said Brian Nevin, an Oyster Bay spokesman.
The contractors' "exploration of these two anomalies in the ballfield area is underway,” the DEC said Monday. State officials on Tuesday did not provide details about the underground objects.
Grumman contractors in late March discovered the first layer of concrete-encased drums under the park’s former ballfields while drilling a well to check an existing soil sampling system at the park. Two other layers of drums were found in the following days.
Initial tests showed the first six drums contained waste petroleum and chlorinated solvents including trichloroethylene (TCE), a known carcinogen.
The DEC on Monday said it is reviewing drum and soil samples taken from the pit. The agency previously said equipment issues at a laboratory to process those results caused delays.
The Town of Oyster Bay on Monday said it conducted its own soil testing and found "elevated" levels of chromium, according to Nevin.
The state DEC has said results from soil and drum samples show petroleum hydrocarbons, metals such as chromium, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated solvents.
State officials said those results are expected since the drums were found in the former settling pond areas used by Grumman when it was in operation.
DEC said Monday lab results and direct inspection of the drums indicated that they did not leak their contents. The contaminants detected in the soil, including chromium levels, the agency said, are “well within the range of concentrations identified during the ongoing cleanup and investigation in other areas of the park.”
The DEC also said Monday blue, discolored soil observed at the park pit where the chemical drums were removed has been found throughout the cleanup and is expected to be addressed during the ongoing remediation. The DEC said Grumman used the site "as a series of settling ponds and sludge drying beds," causing the contamination.
Photos of the soil were displayed at a Bethpage rally where residents expressed frustration at the pace of the cleanup.
DEC interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said in a statement last week the agency is “not pleased with what we found at the ballfield,” referring to the chemical drums, adding the agency is overseeing the work at the site “to make sure that there isn’t a risk to public health and the environment.”
Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino said Monday, "From chemical drums buried beneath the park to clear evidence of toxic soil under our feet, environmental regulatory agencies have all the proof needed to hold Grumman accountable,” adding that Northrop Grumman “must remove all contaminated soil from the property, truck it off Long Island and restore our park for the people of Bethpage.”
Northrop Grumman, the corporate successor to Grumman Aerospace, did not comment on the latest stage of digging at the park. The company said in a statement last week it “remains committed to working with all stakeholders to provide scientifically sound remediation efforts that continue to protect the health of the community and the environment.”
Grumman donated land for the park to the town in 1962 and contamination was found in the soil in 2002. The town sued the company last year over the pace and thoroughness of the cleanup.
With Nicholas Spangler and John Paraskevas
Chemical drum removal at Bethpage park
March 28: Northrop Grumman contractors discovered six concrete-encased drums while drilling a well to check an existing soil treatment system at the park.
April 15: Contractors discovered a second layer of four concrete-encased drums.
April 16: A third layer of six concrete-encased drums was found.
April 17: The final layer of drums was removed from the ground.
April 30: Ground-penetrating radar scans found a potential anomaly outside the pit where the drums were unearthed.
May 1: The state DEC said an additional potential anomaly was discovered by radar.
May 7: Town and state officials confirmed Grumman contractors began digging began to investigate possible underground "anomalies."
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.
