Bethpage-Tribune_2009-03-13

              D C l H F A e f P U B U o y g l ^ y
• I S I ^ L O T - c o c e
tor Oper 40 Years
Volume 47 Number 9 329 Broadway., Bethpage, NY \ 1714 March 13- 19, 2009 ( 516) 6ai- 0440 ext, 21 FAX ( 516) 681 - 9354 Email: Nuz2u@ aolcom 50 CetltS
Meeting Held to Discuss Ongoing Remediation and Investigation by Navy
Regarding Former Drum Marshalling Area Known as Site
On March3, 2009 the ( NWIRP)
Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve
Plant in Bethpage known as Site 1
was the topic of an open house
meeting. Subject matter experts
were on hand to answer questions
from the public regarding the ongo-ing
environmental investigation at
the former Drum Marshalling Area.
The goal for the meeting was to
explain how the Navy is conducting
the site investigation and cleanup;
to identify community concerns and
solicit comments; to establish meth-ods
to share information and to pro-vide
the community with the most
up- to- date information regarding
the ongoing environmental investi-gation.
In addition a follow up
meeting was held on March 11,
2009 whereas Nassau County
Legislator Ed Mangano called on
the U. S. Navy to provide free test-ing
which should be done immedi-ately
and offered to all homeowners
residing south of the Naval
Weapons Reserve Plant; expedite in
home remediation; expedite an on-site
remediation system; designate
funding to compensate affected
homeowners and expand the radius
of neighborhood street testing and
continue testing until redundant
non- detect results are confirmed.
Mangano also reported that con-gressman
Peter King is supporting
the community and advocating for
us on this issue in Washington.
Mangano also reported that he
requested the New York State
Department of Health to conduct a
cancer survey.
The following data as well as
the data on the continued page is
directly from the NAVFAC website.
Hopefully it will provide you with
background information as well as
recent actions at the site.
Wh^ t fs Sit^ I why jg it bying
j p v f s t | g a t f 4 f f f r P Q t g n t l a l v a p Qr
i y i t r p s ^ f f ?
The Naval Facilities Engineering
Command ( NAVFAC) has been
working with the New York State
Department of Environmental
Conservation ( NYSDEC) to identi-fy
and cleanup historical Northrop
Grumman waste storage and dis-posal
sites at the former Naval
Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant
( NWIRP) in Bethpage, NY Part of
this process required groundwater
and soils under the Former Drum
Marshalling Area ( Site 1) to be
sampled and analyzed to determine
potential impacts from past indus-trial
operations. During the course
of this study, volatile chemicals
were found in the groundwater and
soils at Site 1. One of these com-pounds,
trichloroethylcne ( TCE) is
a volatile solvent known to be asso-ciated
with vapor intrusion issues at
other areas across the United
States.
It is thought that these com-pounds
were used as industrial
cleaners and found their way into
the soil and groundwater due to
past disposal practices. Based on
the type of chemical, the depth to
groundwater and the proximity to
occupied buildings, the Navy and
NYSDEC concluded that the poten-tial
for vapor intrusion into homes
near the NWIRP property boundary
in the Bethpage neighborhood
needed to be thoroughly investigat-ed.
What is *^ vapor intrusion?"
Vapor intrusion is the process by
which volatile chemicals move
from an underground source into
the indoor air of buildings or other
enclosed structures. Soil vapor, or
soil gas, is the air found in the
spaces between soil particles. Over
time, volatile chemicals present in
the subsurface soils or groundwater
can move into and contaminate the
soil vapor. Normal heating, air- con-ditioning
and ventilation systems
can create a negative pressure
inside buildings that draws these
soil vapors from the ground into
overlying buildings. Under certain
conditions, soil vapors can enter
buildings through cracks in slab
floors, basement floors, sump
pumps or wherever electrical wires
or pipes penetrate the foundation.
w m m of m m m -
^ I t i g im
In January 2009, samples were
taken of the basement indoor air
and sub- slab soil vapor ( underneath
the floor in the basement) at several
homes along 11th Street. Results
indicate that TCE levels in the
basement indoor air of three homes
are above the recommended guide-lines
published by the New York
State Department of Health ( NYS-DOH).
When NYSDOH guidelines
are exceeded, measures are taken to
reduce or eliminate exposures to
volatile chemicals like TCE to help
avoid potential health impacts. The
Navy, in coordination with NYS-DEC,
NYSDOH and the Nassau
County Department of Health ( the
Agencies), is working to reduce
TCE levels in the indoor air of the
impacted residences.
What are the proposed next
steps?
With home owner's permission
and Agencies concurrence, the
Navy proposes to implement the
following measures:
Immediate Action: Installation
of a portable residential carbon air
filtration unit designed to remove
chemical vapors from indoor air,
and installation of a prefabricated
cover over utility access/ sewer
cleanouts in the basement ( a point
where vapors are believed to be
entering residences);
Interim Action: In homes with
sub- slab soil vapor concentrations
above NYSDOH guidelines, install
a sub- slab depressurization system
( similar to those proven to effec-tively
remove radon from homes)
and continued maintenance and
monitoring of the system to ensure
long- term effectiveness;
Additional Sampling: Due to the
TCE soil vapor concentrations
above NYSDOH guidelines, the
Navy will also be seeking permis-sion
from home owners surround-ing
previously sampled residences
to conduct indoor air and sub- slab
soil vapor sampling.
Long- term Cleanup: With NYS-DEC
and NYSDOH concurrence,
the Navy will install a soil vapor
extraction ( SVE) s y s t ^ ^ n
NWIRP Bethpage pr-" the
11th Street property _ , ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
will reduce the source ot v
impacting nearby homes,
C a p v f t P f f i r i i i l r M . s l i B „ l r f t r o 3 M 1
s f f f i i l m i J i i l t t ' ^ - _
Exposure to a vo' "^ mical
( Conu. .. n page 5)