Second phase of cleanup at Bethpage Community park starts with activation of thermal wells

The second phase of cleanup at Bethpage Community Park began Wednesday, launching a monthslong process to remove contaminants from deep in the soil at the former Grumman Aerospace dumping grounds.

The technique, called thermal remediation, uses electrical currents to heat metal rods drilled into the ground to vaporize pollutants and water in the soil. Then, a vacuum suction pulls the contaminants to a treatment system at the surface before the treated air is released, officials said. 

Grumman, the aerospace giant, used the 18-acre park as a chemical waste disposal site before donating it to the Town of Oyster Bay in 1962. Northrop Grumman, its corporate successor, is responsible for cleaning up the polluted site. The field was built over a solvent-soaked rag disposal pit and sludge settling pond. The park was closed to the public in 2002 after toxic industrial compounds were discovered there.

The thermal remediation had been planned since 2013, years before contractors this spring uncovered 22 concrete-encased chemical drums under the park. The first phase of the cleanup began in 2020 and lasted nearly two years.

The thermal remedy was turned on Wednesday, said Patrick Foster, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation. He called that step "an important milestone in the eventual cleanup of Bethpage Community Park."

The thermal remediation is expected to last about eight months, according to the DEC, which is overseeing the cleanup by Northrop Grumman contractors.

Oyster Bay Town officials are skeptical of Northrop Grumman's plan and have called for a full excavation of contaminated park soil. Last week, town officials called on Northrop Grumman to postpone the thermal remediation over concern it could slow investigations into the soil. 

Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino said in a statement that "Grumman must meet much greater benchmarks to prove to the public that it's serious about fully remediating the park." 

The statement continued: "They have a lot more to accomplish."

Phase one

The contractor has dug a total of 385 wells over three-quarters of an acre spanning from the park's tennis courts to the ballfield area, officials said.

Jason Pelton, a DEC project manager, said 261 of those wells will heat the soil. The other wells will capture the contaminated vapor. 

The first phase of thermal remediation was started across the ballfield area of the park in 2020 following delays, Newsday reported. Metal rods were dug about 35 to 45 feet into the soil. The process removed more than 1,500 pounds of soil contamination from August 2020 to May 2022, according to the DEC.

The second phase will dig deeper underground — up to 60 feet below the surface, the DEC said. A third phase of thermal remediation will eventually target areas beneath the park's parking lot.

In late March, Northrop Grumman’s contractor was building the thermal wells when it discovered a layer of six concrete-encased drums buried underground in the park's ballfield area.

A total of 22 drums containing toxins were eventually uncovered and removed.

Shallower soil concern

Last week, Oyster Bay sent a letter to Northrop Grumman, demanding it postpone plans for thermal remediation. Town officials want the company to develop a plan to clean up shallower soil at the park that contains polychlorinated biphenyls, or manmade chemicals known as PCBs. Last year, the town sued Northrop Grumman in federal court over the pace and scope of the cleanup.

The thermal treatment would "inevitably delay further investigation," Russell Selman, an attorney representing the town, wrote in the Aug. 28 letter to Northrop Grumman.

"Grumman’s failure to fully investigate, characterize, and remediate environmental issues in the Park has deprived the Town of full use of the Park for far too long," the letter reads. 

Northrop Grumman did not respond to a request for comment about the letter.

The DEC said in a statement that while the thermal remediation takes place, "Northrop Grumman will develop plans to excavate soil containing PCBs and metals from the former Grumman settling ponds area and dispose of it off-site."

Thermal remediation is "a proven, safe, and scientifically sound approach that has already successfully removed thousands of pounds of site-related contamination from the park," the DEC statement said.

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ