Contaminated Ball Field In Bethpage To Be Remediated This Summer

BETHPAGE, NY — The remediation of the long-shuttered contaminated ball field at Bethpage Community Park is slated to get underway this summer, Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino announced. Final construction of a thermal well, which will remove soil contaminants at the former Grumman dumpsite through a project performed by Northrup Grumman with State Department of Environmental Conservation oversight, is happening this week, Town officials said.

"This section of the park has been closed to the public for many years to ensure the highest level of caution and safety," Saladino said in a news release. "We of course all want to see it finally cleaned up, but we want to see it done right. Thanks to the Town’s efforts together with the DEC, this dormant property is ready for a new chapter."

Following extensive planning and testing by the Town and DEC, the Grumman Corporation is taking action to remediate two types of contamination under the ball field. The current work to be performed is Phase One of the cleanup, which addresses compounds found in the air. Grumman installed a well field in the ball field area of the park, which serves two functions: one set of wells heats the soil, while the second creates a vacuum to capture the released gases created when the soil is heated. While the wells and necessary piping have been installed in the ball field, the actual remediation system will be located on the adjacent Grumman-owned property. Additional measures and precautions are also being put in place to ensure no soil vapors are released into the air, including an installation of a cover over the well field site.

"Since the beginning, the Town has been carefully monitoring and overseeing the work being done at this site," Saladino said. "Throughout the entirety of this project, precautions are being put in place to guarantee the safeguards our residents and this community deserve. We will continue to accept nothing less than the highest level of cleanup at this location."

The contamination was caused by a plume of toxic water due to industrial waste dumping from U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman manufacturing facilities. The contaminated water led to a New York State Department of Health investigation into several cancer cases in Bethpage, Newsday reported.