5 Contaminated Military Sites On LI Flagged As High, Medium Risk

New York has 32 properties or installations, including five on Long Island, currently or formerly owned by the Department of Defense that have at least one high or medium risk hazardous site, according to data released from the DOD that was acquired and published by ProPublica.

According to ProPublica, which has been documenting toxic pollution left behind by the military across the country, there are more than 40,000 such hazardous sites polluted by U.S. military operations.

Through its reporting, ProPublica found that many of these sites have extensive groundwater and soil pollution or present a risk of exploding bombs and munitions. Some of these sites are part of old facilities that may not be known locally even though a risk of exposure to contaminants may still be present. ProPublica also notes that contamination could affect an area much larger than the site itself.

According to ProPublica, past and estimated future costs of hazardous sites cleanup in New York is $1.5 billion.

The Long Island installations with at least one high or medium risk site are:

(Click on the installation for further details)

• Camp Hero, Montauk (high risk)
• Suffolk Co AAF & B&C RGE, Westhampton
• Suffolk County Air Force Base, Westhampton (high risk)
• Calverton Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Riverhead (high risk)
• Bethpage Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Bethpage (high risk)

Photo of a former gun emplacement at Camp Hero State Park by Transpoman - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/...