Navy officials say Bethpage plume is moving about a foot a day
The Navy provides updates into three phases of the process to track the plume and remove chemicals in the groundwater because of it. Construction is underway to build facilities to remove contaminants from the groundwater and stop the plume from spreading.
More Stories
Navy officials shared details about the migration of the Bethpage plume and ongoing cleanup efforts during a meeting of the Bethpage Restoration Advisory Board Wednesday evening.
Specifically, officials shared with News 12 that the plume is moving about a foot a day and it's reaching as far south as the Southern State Parkway and the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway.
This is the first meeting of the year where the Navy addresses the Bethpage plume. As previously reported, the plume was created due to improper chemical disposal techniques from Navy and Grumman sites in decades prior that led to toxic chemicals seeping into the groundwater.
The Navy provides updates into three phases of the process to track the plume and remove chemicals in the groundwater because of it. Construction is underway to build facilities to remove contaminants from the groundwater and stop the plume from spreading.
Bethpage residents at the meeting say the information is helpful. Some residents, like Kevin Bracken, say they just want to see it all cleaned up faster.
"Let's not argue about who's paying for this and that,” he said. “Let's clean it up. Let's get it out of here. We know where it is. It's time to just clean up the mess and move on."
These meetings are open to the public and info presented during the meeting are posted online here.
Their next meeting will be in November.
