Following the recent discovery of chemical drums beneath the former Grumman landfill in Bethpage Community Park, officials have asked the New York State Department of Health to conduct a new and more comprehensive health study.
A letter signed Thursday by Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino, state Senator Steven Rhoads and Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz urged the agency to “immediately prioritize this study and provide the necessary resources to ensure its careful conduct.”
From the 1940s through the 1990s, Grumman manufactured airplanes and spacecraft on a 600-acre site in Bethpage. The park was one of the sites where the company dumped hazardous waste that contributed to a massive groundwater plume that still spreads southward across Long Island.
The request by the three Republicans comes after 22 concrete-encased barrels containing cancer-causing metals and organic compounds used by Grumman Aerospace in manufacturing were discovered in the park’s ballfield area in April and May. Years earlier, regulators had said that “no buried barrels exist beneath the park.” Further investigations are underway to find more barrels.
“Our citizens need a full, comprehensive study that will give them the assurance that they are getting the facts,” Saladino said in a phone interview Saturday morning, adding that a “new, intensive, updated” study would provide more transparency about the impact of historical contamination.
The state Department of Health had previously conducted a cancer assessment study, published in 2013, which found that cancer rates in a 19-block area near Bethpage Community Park were no higher than expected.
The letter Thursday A letter to Health Minister James McDonald asked the state to “significantly expand” the geographic scope of any new studies – a request the agency rejected in 2013 on the grounds that it would dilute the results and that its findings did not justify further investigation.
Monica Pomeroy, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health, said the agency is reviewing the letter “while continuing to explore options for further public health evaluation work in Bethpage Township.”
“The contamination has been thoroughly investigated and the impacts on soil air have been stopped for more than 10 years and on drinking water for 36 years,” Pomeroy said in an emailed statement. “The department will continue to monitor the remediation system so the public can be assured that everything is in place to protect their health.”
She said the buried barrels discovered earlier this year “have not and will not have any impact on the drinking water supply,” although the department continues to test public water.
Blumencranz said the last study was over a decade old, adding, “I think it’s important to see empirical data with multiple data points to show either a trend or a problem or no problem when it comes to pollutants in the community.”
Rhoads said residents in the area affected by the smoke cloud had “the right to feel safe in their homes and to know what the risks are.”
Northrop Grumman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Politicians, advocacy groups and residents have long called for a more comprehensive investigation to determine whether emissions from Grumman and U.S. Navy operations at Bethpage have negative health effects. Experts say that process is difficult and not often successful.
Danny Commerton, 60, of nearby Island Trees, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2021 and is still undergoing treatment. He said he used to run cross country at Bethpage Community Park.
He said an expanded study that includes areas outside the immediate vicinity of Bethpage Community Park would be a “big step” in informing residents about the impacts of toxic waste disposal.
