A large chemical drum was discovered buried in a local park on Long Island, prompting local officials and residents who have long feared the park’s past may be linked to the spread of cancer in the community. His anger was reignited. The discovery has some people thinking there are more secrets to uncover.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced in late March that six 55-gallon steel drums encased in concrete were discovered at Bethpage Community Park as work continued to clean up a multi-year contaminated site. did. The area, located in the town of Oyster Bay, is a former disposal site for aerospace manufacturer Northrop Grumman, formerly known as Grumman Aerospace.
Preliminary testing found the drum was filled with chlorinated solvent and waste oil, the state said, adding, “The drum was discovered in an area where cleaning work was being carried out at the ball field, and was not considered a danger to the public.” “This is not intended to have any negative impact,” it said in a statement. On-site health and safety. ”
Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino scathingly criticized the ongoing cleanup efforts and called on Northrop Grumman to remove all the soil and move it off Long Island.
“You’re looking at a graveyard of Grumman contamination. We’ve been telling them for years that it’s much worse than they’re claiming,” Saladino said at a fence at the site. he told Fox News while standing in front of a fenced-in enclosure. “Now these drums prove it, and it’s time for Grumman to show that it’s in charge.” [and] Completely clean this location and transport all contaminants from Long Island. This community and the people of this town deserve nothing better. ”
A 55-gallon steel drum encased in concrete was discovered at Bethpage Community Park as years of cleanup efforts at the contaminated site continued. (Fox News)
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Contaminated soil was first discovered at the park in 2002, and Northrop Grumman was named as the primary culprit behind the groundwater plume spreading from the site.
“At its widest point, the plume is approximately 2 miles wide. In most areas, the top of the groundwater plume is more than 200 feet above the surface and approximately 900 feet below ground level,” according to the state’s summary of remedial actions. It is the surface of the earth that extends to the depths. ”
From 1942 to 1996, Grumman Aerospace and the U.S. Navy used approximately 600 acres in Oyster Bay to manufacture military aircraft, according to the DEC.
The area of land used by the company for waste disposal was donated to the town in 1962 and later became the community baseball field.
Although a link between the location and local cancer rates has not been confirmed, neighbors are increasingly joining class-action lawsuits and filing personal injury lawsuits.
Northrop Grumman has previously denied liability or declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
Regarding the latest discovery, a Northrop Grumman spokesperson issued the following statement:
“During environmental remediation at Bethpage Community Park under the supervision of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), we discovered several oil drums encased in concrete underground in a closed area of the park. We immediately notified NYSDEC and other stakeholders. “We are working with NYSDEC to assess and address this situation as quickly as possible. We continue to protect the health and well-being of our community.” “We are committed to continuing our partnership with NYSDEC and other government regulators to address the local environmental situation.”
Fear of a dirty childhood
Long Island was a beacon of opportunity when Lois Schiavetta and her family moved to the area decades ago.
“I was 3 years old, and my dad had just left the Navy a year earlier and started working for Grumman Aerospace, and we decided it would be a good idea to move to the town where we were going to be working.” Ms. Schiavetta said.
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Schiavetta said her childhood was very happy. She spent time with her parents, her siblings and friends.
“The ice skating rink was fun on Friday nights. It was where we all went to meet the boys and skate,” she said.
Schiavetta lived three blocks from the manufacturing plant, then known as Grumman Aerospace.
“We were always going swimming and playing at the ballpark,” Schiavetta said. “We didn’t have our parents drive us anywhere. We walked, we rode our bikes, and we just hung out there.”
Throughout her adolescence, she noticed alarming trends in her community.
“Every household on the other side of the block has someone with some form of cancer.”
Now she wonders if the time she spent on and around baseball fields influenced her later cancer diagnosis.
“I had to have a double mastectomy and go through chemotherapy. It was definitely difficult and put a huge strain on my family and my children, but 10 years later I’m still here. I am,” she said.
Despite the challenges, Schiavetta said she considers herself one of the lucky ones.
“I have a lot of friends who have had multiple cancers since high school, and it’s pretty traumatic,” she said. “The numbers and names I saw… were on the class list, the names of people who left us.”
A 55-gallon steel drum encased in concrete was discovered at Bethpage Community Park as years of cleanup efforts at the contaminated site continued. (Fox News)
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long legal battle
”I’m not surprised at all. “Grumman did everything it could to hide the truth from the public,” said Long Island personal injury attorney Paul Napoli. “They buried the barrel like they buried their heads in the sand when it came to reporting.” The community buried the truth. ”
Since 2016, Napoli has been working with community members on a class action lawsuit against Northrop Grumman.
He claimed that the manufacturer’s historic operations caused widespread air pollution.
“In fact, what they were emitting from the 400 chimneys on site was air pollution, millions of pounds of TCE in the air, and by their own admission thousands of pounds of hexavalent. Chromium was being released…and TCE is banned in New York,” Napoli said.
Napoli further claims that Northrop Grumman originally left the 600-acre site because it did not want to pay the new costs associated with air emissions monitoring after the Clean Air Act of 1962 was enacted. did.
“I’ve always wondered why Grumman left Long Island, and now the reason is pretty clear. The cost of installing scrubbers and exhaust gas protection devices on these 400 chimneys is prohibitive. They left because it was too expensive and it wasn’t worth staying in the area.”, But what they left behind was this toxic legacy. ”
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Northrop Grumman still operates from a nine-acre property in Bethpage, Long Island.
Napoli hopes a judge will rule on the claims filed in a class action lawsuit against Northrop Grumman by this fall. The judge also appointed a mediator to try to resolve the case through settlement, the lawyer added.
FOX News Producer Jennifer Johnson contributed to this report.
