The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will hold a public information meeting to discuss soil contamination at Bethpage Community Park at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 19 at Bethpage JFK Middle School, Broadway, Bethpage.

Recent soil testing has found elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in soils at the park. Northrop-Grumman Corporation notified DEC and the State Department of Health (NYSDOH) of elevated levels of PCBs found in a 1999-2001 plant closure investigation of an access road immediately south of the park. At that time, Northrop-Grumman proposed to undertake an investigation of soil in areas of the park where the former Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation had disposed of liquid wastes and solid fill in the 1950s and 1960s. The recent soil testing was part of that investigation.

The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation (subsequently purchased by Northrop-Grumman Corporation) donated the land for the park to the Town of Oyster Bay on Oct. 17, 1962. The 18-acre park is located on the west side of Stewart Avenue near its intersection with Cherry Avenue. The park is currently owned by the Town of Oyster Bay and includes a swimming pool, playground, baseball field and picnic area.

Town Supervisor John Venditto ordered the park closed on May 3 until additional tests are completed, and DEC and NYSDOH have had an opportunity to present the results of the sampling program to the community. Additional samples to further define the limits of contamination and to evaluate several additional potential exposure points in the park were collected during the week of May 13. Results of that sampling will be presented at the June 19 public information meeting.

During environmental investigations conducted in 1994, the U.S. Navy collected a soil sample from the park in which PCBs were detected at concentrations less than the applicable cleanup levels. Five soil samples were subsequently collected by the Town of Oyster Bay in 1998. PCBs were either not detected, or were detected at trace levels in these samples.

Northrop-Grumman's recent sampling of park soil took place in March 2002. Soil samples were collected from 60 locations, primarily from grass and soil areas at the park. All but two of these locations were sampled at the surface (0-2 inch depth), and all were sampled at specific intervals down to a depth of eight feet.

Additional surface samples (0-2 inches) were taken at potential exposure points in the park. These points include slide landing and swing areas at the playgrounds, the infield and baselines of the ballfield and the horseshoe pits. These soil samples were analyzed for PCBs and several metals.

A total of 77 surface soil samples (0-2 inches) were taken in grassy areas, in bare soil, under wood chips and gravel, and near the fence line of the park. PCBs were detected in 64 of these samples, with the range of detections being 0.04 to 23 parts per million (ppm). Most of these samples had concentrations of PCBs of less than one ppm. One ppm is the cleanup value used by DEC to remediate PCBs in a residential setting. Elevated levels of chromium were found in some surface soil samples, however, the concentrations were below levels of health concern.

Special attention was focused on testing in bare areas because children are more likely to come into contact with the soil in these areas than in areas that are well grassed. Children may accidentally ingest the soil if they put their hands in their mouths or if they eat without washing their hands. PCBs were detected in only three of 17 samples taken in bare areas, with the PCB concentrations in these three samples ranging from 0.09 ppm to 0.4 ppm.

The highest surface sample PCB value, 23 ppm, was found in one sample in left field of the baseball field. The area is well grassed and contact with large amounts of soil in this area is unlikely. Consequently, the potential for exposures in the ballfield, as well as in other areas of the park is low.

The deeper soil samples (down to eight feet) had elevated levels of PCBs and some metals, particularly chromium. Approximately 15 percent of the deep soil samples exceeded recommended soil cleanup objectives for total PCBs and/or metals. The contaminants in subsurface soil are not an immediate exposure concern because people do not come into contact with them under most circumstances.

Future efforts will address soil contamination that has been found at depth. Under the guidelines of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act corrective action program, this will likely include one or more phases of additional investigation, selection of an appropriate remedial alternative, and an opportunity for public review and comment on any potential remedial activities that may be proposed.

Soil samples were collected in 1995 from 11 residential yards southwest of the park and tested for PCBs. PCBs were either not detectable or less than one ppm in these samples. One ppm is the cleanup value used by DEC to remediate PCBs in a residential setting. More recently, NYSDOH collected five soil samples from Bethpage High School, across the street from the park. PCBs were detected at low concentrations in these samples, but all of the results from the school samples were less than the one ppm cleanup value. The agencies will continue to identify and test any offsite locations that require additional investigation.

According to the DEC, there is no evidence that contamination in park soils has affected groundwater. The agencies are reviewing the available data to determine the need for any additional investigation in this regard. All public water supplies in the vicinity of the former Grumman/U.S. Navy Bethpage facility are routinely monitored and treated, if necessary, to ensure that drinking water distributed to the public meets federal, state, and county requirements.

Documents related to the investigation and potential remediation of contamination at Bethpage Community Park will be made available with documents related to the remediation of the Grumman Aerospace Facility-Bethpage at the Bethpage Public Library and at www.dec.state.ny.us/website/reg1/ihwsites/nassau01sites.html.