#bethpage

Grumman mockup for the Apollo Lunar Module.

Date: October 9, 1964

A view of the Embassy Diner on Hempstead Turnpike in Bethpage, Long Island. Just west of the SOB (Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway.) Still around today and apparently doing well.

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SIX DRUMS FILLED WITH TOXIC CHEMICALS DEPOSITED BY NORTHROP GRUMMAN FOUND BURIED IN CANCER-PLAGUED LONG ISLAND TOWN

📹 Six 55-gallon drums filled with toxic chemicals, and encased in concrete coffins, some broken, were found buried under Bethpage Community Park in cancer-plagued Bethpage, a town on Long Island in New York State, which was deposited by U.S. military contractor Northrop Grumman.

Previously, the town of Bethpage had to contend with a 6-square mile toxic plume of hazardous waste resulting from Northrop Grumman's dumping of chemicals underground in the area.

At least one of the 55-gallon drums was found punctured, and some contained flammable chemicals.

The drums were found buried just 4-feet underground, underneath the Park's baseball field which was previously abandoned more than 20 years ago due to concerns over soil contamination.

According to a report in New York Post, a layer of clay was found under the drums, where authorities believe chemicals could have seeped into the ground.

Oyster Bay Supervisor, Joseph Saladino, called on authorities with New York's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to clean up the park by collecting all the contaminated soil and removing it from Long Island. The community's tax payers previously paid $20 million to clean up the site to allow local residents to use the Park's skating rink.

Saladino also filed a lawsuit against Northrup Grumman 10 years ago to reimburse the community's costs for the cleanup, while a new lawsuit was filed in December to order the further cleanup and removal of the toxic soil.

Local residents have been complaining of higher cancer rates in their community for years, arguing that surrounding communities have far lower rates to their own, while the DEC claimed the discovery posed "no immediate threat to public health."

Still, local residents say they're fed-up, continueing to call for the immediate removal of toxic substances, along with demands for a full soil excavation in the park.

“I’ve had it. I’ve had it. I’ve been working on this for over 20 years as a New York state Assembly member and now as the supervisor of the fourth-largest town in America and I’m not going to sit by idly,” Saladino is quoted as saying.

Northrop Grumman, for its part, said it continues to work with the DEC to address the situation.

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