Thermal remediation at Bethpage Community Park ends, with 460 pounds of toxins removed
Soil cleanup area at Bethpage Community Park in Bethpage in September. Credit: Morgan Campbell
The latest phase of cleanup at Bethpage Community Park, where Grumman Aerospace spent decades dumping toxic chemicals, resulted in the extraction of 460 pounds of contamination from deep within the soil, state officials said Thursday.
Northrop Grumman, the corporate successor, turned on the thermal treatment system in September 2024. The technique employed 385 wells across three-quarters of an acre, spanning from the park's tennis courts to the ballfield area.
The technology uses electrical currents to heat up metal rods that vaporize the toxins before they are vacuumed into a surface-level treatment system.
A total of 460 pounds of volatile organic compounds were extracted, state Department of Environmental Commissioner Amanda Lefton said Thursday during a news conference at the park.
Contractors conducted the first phase of thermal remediation between August 2020 and May 2022, resulting in the removal of 1,500 pounds of VOCs, the DEC has said. Lefton said the removal of nearly 2,000 pounds of VOCs in total marked "an important milestone" in the cleanup process.
"This scientifically proven and safe cleanup method ensures the protection of public health and the environment as part of the state's ongoing comprehensive investigation, containment and cleanup of the Navy/Grumman groundwater plume," said Lefton, who was appointed to her role earlier this year.
Jason Pelton, a director of one of the DEC's remedial bureaus, said the remediation was successful in meeting cleanup objectives. The agency aimed to lower the concentration of VOCs to a standard of 10 parts per million. Testing showed VOCs were down to just over 1 part per million, he said.
Next, the town, DEC and Northrop Grumman must submit to the Environmental Protection Agency a plan to remove polychlorinated biphenyls from soil in the park's ballfield area. Oyster Bay and Northrop Grumman have been embroiled in a bitter legal battle over the pace and scope of the plan.
Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino said while thermal remediation was successful, it was only a "partial remedy" and doesn't address the soil closer to the park's surface, where there are PCBs and other toxins such as hexavalent chromium, he said.
"We want this park cleaned up without further delays," Saladino said, adding Northrop Grumman "has not been held anywhere near fully accountable."
Northrop Grumman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Grumman Aerospace used the 18-acre site as a solvent-soaked rag disposal pit and sludge settling pond before donating it to Oyster Bay in 1962. A ballfield was built over the dumping ground but was closed to the public in 2002 following the discovery of toxins there.
Oyster Bay sued Northrop Grumman in 2023 over the company's cleanup plan. The town recently expanded the focus of that lawsuit to include the cancer-causing toxin hexavalent chromium. Town officials' raised concern about the toxin following the discovery of concrete-encased chemical drums in spring 2024, Newsday has reported.
Lawyers for Northrop Grumman say the town's legal tactics have contributed to delays in the process.
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) called the end of thermal remediation "a really positive step — a milestone." But, he added, "there's still more to do."
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