Local water "is safe to drink," the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) assured at a meeting in the Plainview-Old Bethpage Library on August 28. The meeting, presented jointly by Nassau County Legislator David Mejias and the Concerned Citizens of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Community, was called to allow the DEC to present findings from their recent evaluation of contamination of sites within the Plainview Industrial Park.

Despite finding evidence of contamination in the groundwater beneath the park, DEC spokespeople, together with the Plainview Water District, underlined the safety of the drinking water, assuring citizens that any water that reaches their homes for drinking has first been purified to remove contaminants.

"I want to point out that the public is not drinking contaminated water," said DEC geologist Joseph Jones, project manager for investigations at the Industrial Park, adding that there is a filtering system in place to remove contaminants from the water before it is delivered to local homes.

Reading from a prepared statement, Plainview Water District spokesperson Joseph DiGregorio supported the DEC's position. "Rest assured that our drinking water is safe to drink, and meets Health Department regulatory requirements," he said.

Investigations and remediation work at the site have been ongoing at the former Hazardous Waste Sites since 1998, due to the use of chemicals - such as Trichlorethylene (TCE), used in cleaning metal, Tetrachloroethylene (PCE), used in metal degreasing and dry-cleaning, and Trichloroacetic acid (TCA), a breakdown product of TCE - by companies in the Industrial Park dating back more than half a century. These chemicals - which have been linked to birth defects, cancer and organ damage - can contaminate a site in three different ways: through the soil, the groundwater, and through a process known as soil vapor intrusion.

New York State Department of Health spokesperson Jacquelyn Nealon said that there are three ways in which the public can be exposed to the contaminants - skin contact, consumption or inhalation. Of these three, she immediately ruled out the first possibility. "There is no road of exposure for a dermal contact," she said, explaining that this would involve coming into contact with affected soil, found only beneath buildings that leached the contaminants in the first place.

Problems via consumption are equally unlikely, she added. "The groundwater is contaminated," she said, "However, the drinking water that is coming into your homes is treated before it is actually distributed for drinking water purposes."

The third possibility for contamination, soil vapor intrusion, is more difficult to contain, and is the focus of an ongoing DEC investigation on the site. This type of contamination occurs when contaminated vapors are released from the soil. The greatest risk from these vapors is when they find their way into houses and buildings through vents and cracks in the floor. That risk, although played down by the DEC at the meeting, is nevertheless the subject of ongoing investigation, as evidence of soil vapor intrusion was found at two sites within the business park, the cause of one of which is as yet unknown.

Nathan Putnam, project manager for the evaluation of the United Stellar Industries site on Sunnyside Boulevard, said his investigation had uncovered both contamination of the groundwater and evidence of soil vapor intrusion directly beneath the building - apparently a direct result of the use of chemicals on the premises. A vapor recovery system has been installed to remove vapors on this site, he said, with a carbon filter ensuring that the contaminants are removed to meet air discharge criteria.

Joseph Jones, meanwhile, revealed that a further incidence had been uncovered near 100 Commercial Street but that it was far enough off-site that there was some concern as to where the plume had originated. Jones admitted that his team had not yet established the source of that contamination, and that further investigation may be necessary in order to do so.

County Legislator David Mejias expressed his appreciation for the presence of the DEC representatives, who had traveled from Albany, to present their findings to the audience. "I really appreciate them coming to explain to everybody here exactly what's going on in our back yard," he said. "It's very important for us as elected officials to keep you informed about what's going on."

Carol Meschkow, president of the Concerned Citizens of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Community, said after the meeting that she was "happy to hear that they haven't closed the book on this," in relation to the DEC's ongoing concern over the soil vapor issue. Although they haven't made any firm commitment to future action, Meschkow was confident that the DEC would not be satisfied until they had located the source of the contaminants found near 100 Commercial Street. She also called for the DEC to do indoor air sampling of residential properties near the site to allay the fears of residents there. Although she doesn't think people should be unduly worried, she would prefer to have conclusive proof that there is no problem. "I think it's better to err on the side of caution," she said.

A final report for characterization of the risks presented by the site is expected from the DEC in September 2007. It is likely that this will be available to the public approximately 3 months after publication, said DEC Section Chief Guy Bobersky. During the evaluation process for this report, decisions will be made about the need for any further evaluations in the area, including soil vapor intrusion.