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Northrop Grumman Corporation

Other (Former) Names of Site: NWIRP - Bethpage, Grumman Aerospace Corporation

EPA Identification Number: NYD002047967
Facility Location: 830 South Oyster Bay Road, Bethpage, New York

Site Map

Facility Contact Name: Larry Leskovjan, (516) 575-2333
EPA Contact Name: Carol Stein, (212) 637-4181, stein.carol@epa.gov
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Case Manager: Henry Wilkie, (518) 402-8594, hjwilkie@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Steve Schraf, (518) 402-9620, sxscharf@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Last Update: March 2005
Environmental Indicator Status: Human Exposures Under Control: No status has been recorded.
Groundwater Contamination Under Control: No status has been recorded.


Site Description

The Northrop Grumman facility is situated on 635 acres in the Town of Oyster Bay, Bethpage, New York. Approximately 105 of the 635 acres are occupied by the Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant (NWIRP), a Government Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO) facility. The Northrop Grumman Corporation was established in the early 1930s. Activities conducted at the facility included engineering, administrative, research and development, and testing operations, as well as manufacturing operations for the Navy and NASA. The facility also had an active airfield. Both Northrop Grumman and the NWIRP had numerous industrial groundwater supply wells and recharge basins.

The Northrop Grumman facility is surrounded by industrial and commercial facilities along with several residential communities. There is a number of public supply wells located within a two-mile radius of the facility. All public water is drawn from the sole-source aquifer.

The Northrop Grumman facility has undergone major operational changes since the issuance of the Part 373 Permit by the NYSDEC in 1992. Former manufacturing and other operations have been phased out, and Northrop Grumman has sold most of the facility, though Northrop Grumman maintains a permanent presence with approximately 1,500 technical staff.

Site Responsibility and Legal Instrument

Currently remedial work at the facility is being conducted pursuant to several authorities: the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), Division of Environmental Remediation is handling groundwater issues through Administrative Orders. NYSDEC Spills Program has addressed a fuel spill. NYSDEC Bureau of Solid Waste and RCRA Corrective Action is handling the soils contamination and RCRA concerns through a NYCRR Part 373 Permit, and the NYS Department of Health Underground Injection Compliance (UIC) Program is dealing with the dry wells in conjunction with RCRA.

Permit Status

A NYCRR Part 373 Permit was issued on March 1, 1992 and expired in 1997. The Permit was extended under the State Administrative Procedures Act until a final decision is made on the permit renewal request. NYSDEC decided not to issue a permit modification until all the soil removal has been completed. On January 30, 2005, Northrop Grumman submitted a permit renewal application to NYSDEC for corrective action activities.

Potential Threats and Contaminants

Volatile organic compound (mainly trichloroethylene, tetrachlorethylene, dichloroethylene and vinyl chloride) and chromium contamination at the Northrop Grumman facility entered the groundwater through various source areas. These include recharge basins, sumps, dry wells, spill areas and former hazardous waste storage areas at both the Grumman facility and the adjacent Hooker/RUCO EPA Superfund site. In 1976, water pumped from some of the on-site Grumman production wells was found to contain volatile organic compounds. Subsequently, Grumman ultimately installed an air stripper on the non-contact cooling water supply wells.

In 1986, the Nassau County Health Department, in conjunction with the United States Geological Survey, began an investigation of the groundwater resources in the vicinity of the Grumman plant. During this study, a groundwater plume estimated to be over 2000 acres in area and over 700 feet deep in places has been identified beneath, and south of, these facilities. This plume is emanating from this facility, and is commingled with a plume from the upgradient and adjacent Hooker/RUCO site.

Groundwater on-site is contaminated but it is not used as a potable water supply. A groundwater pump and treat system was implemented on-site to contain the plume and reduce contaminant concentrations in the groundwater. Off-site groundwater contamination has affected several public water supply wells and may threaten others. Grumman and the Navy have installed wellhead treatment systems at affected public water supply wells to remove contaminants prior to distribution in the public water supply system. A Public Water Supply Protection Program was memorialized in the Operable Unit 2 Groundwater Record of Decision for this facility, issued by NYSDEC in 2001.

Discrete areas of soil contamination at various areas of the Grumman facility have served as the sources of groundwater contamination. PCBs have been found in certain areas of the surface soil, storm drains and other specific subsurface site locations on-site, and most recently, off-site. Heavy metals, mostly cadmium and chromium, are contaminants of concern in the soil at specific locations of the site. Volatile organic compounds have also been identified in the site soils at specific locations.

Testing, as directed by the NYS Department of Health, has been conducted to ensure that there are no interior vapor problems inside the former Northrop Grumman and NWIRP buildings.

Operable Unit 3 (Operable Unit 3), the area immediately off-site which was used for sludge drying and fire control training, is an 18-acrea area that now is part of the Bethpage Community Park. Thus far, three homes adjacent to Operable Unit 3 have exhibited surface soil contamination with PCBs. Additionally, preliminary data indicates that the park property could have been a historic source of six chlorinated volatile organic compounds. Further investigation of groundwater is being planned, through a comprehensive Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study for the Bethpage Park immediately offsite of Operable Unit 3.

Cleanup Approach and Progress

Cleanup of the Grumman, Navy and Hooker/Ruco sites has been implemented pursuant to a number of different EPA and State programs.

In 1990, Grumman signed a consent order with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Environmental Remediation (NYSDEC DER) in which they agreed to conduct a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study at the Grumman facility. The Remedial Investigation was completed in 1994. At the time, two on-site source areas were identified: there had been a tetrachloroethylene release at Plant 15, which was remediated in 1996 via soil vapor extraction, and a release from a trichloroethylene storage tank adjacent to Plant 2, also remediated via soil vapor extraction. These actions were initiated as Interim Remedial Measures. A Record of Decision for remediating these on-site source areas was issued by the NYSDEC DER in March 1995.

In addition, the Department of the Navy also conducted an investigation and study on the 105-Acre Government Owned, Contractor Operated (GOCO), or NWIRP portion of this site as part of a Memorandum of Understanding with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Environmental Remediation. Remedial alternatives were developed for addressing groundwater contamination emanating from this site and the 105-Acre NWIRP Site. Wellhead treatment was implemented by Grumman and the Navy to provide protection to public water supply wells located to the south of the site.

The on-site Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study were completed for Grumman and NWIRP sites, and Records of Decision were issued in May of 1995 by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation's Division of Environmental Remediation to address on-site source areas. This included:

The on-site portion of the large groundwater plume emanating from these facilities appears to have been contained by the implementation of an interim remedial measure called the On-site Containment System (ONCT). The ONCT on Grumman's southern boundary went on line in June 1998 to contain the groundwater plume on site. This system is currently undergoing an effectiveness evaluation as part of the long term operation, maintenance and monitoring program. The ONCT, along with the Public Water Supply Protection Program, is part of the final groundwater remedy for the Northrop Grumman and NWIRP Sites (March 2001 Operable Unit 2 Record of Decision.) The ONCT addresses the on-site groundwater plume and the Public Water Supply Protection Program addresses the off-site plume.

The Record of Decision for Operable Unit 2, calls for the continuation of ongoing corrective measures; continuation of volatile organic compound removal at three off-site public water supply wells; long-term operation, maintenance and monitoring of remediation systems; vinyl chloride treatment; off-site groundwater extraction and treatment; and continuation of a "non-detect" policy for affected public water supplies. There is also a wellhead treatment contingency plan that will go along with the long term monitoring program. This contingency plan will protect any municipal wells downgradient that potentially can be impacted by the offsite migration of contamination. The design of the off-site pump and treat system, known as the GM38 D2 area groundwater extraction and treatment remedy, has been started by the Department of the Navy.

Concurrent with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) program, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) program for the Northrop Grumman and Navy sites has removed contaminated soils in many areas of the facility (Parcel O-1, Plant 3, Plant 5, Plant 12, Plant 10, Plant 17N and Plant 17S) as Interim Corrective Measures. Contaminated soil and dry well sediments, at known or potential sources, have been or are being addressed. Additionally, large capacity fuel oil tanks that have had historical leaks are being remediated. All the tanks have been removed and residual contaminants in these areas are being remediated under NYSDEC Spill Response.

On February 2, 2001, indoor air sampling was performed in the 105 - acre Government Owned, Contractor Operated (GOCO) site to determine if residual airborne concentrations of volatile organic compounds from the subsurface are adversely impacting the air quality in the manufacturing areas, warehouse areas and/or in the office building. Available information indicates that there is not an indoor air vapor hazard at this facility.

The conclusion stated in an October 2003 report for Plant 3 (which is located within the 105-acre GOCO site) was that there was no current human exposure to indoor air because the building had been vacated, and was not in use. If this property is sold or leased to others in the future, deed restrictions would need to be placed on the property regarding the change of use of the property.

Also, as stated above, additional groundwater sampling for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is planned off-site/downgradient of Operable Unit 3 (the 18-acre area immediately off-site which was used for sludge drying and fire control training) to determine the extent of groundwater contamination with VOCs.

Site Repository

Copies of supporting technical documents and correspondence cited in this site fact sheet are available for public review at:

NYSDEC - Central Office
625 Broadway, 11th floor
Albany, NY 12233
Contact Person: Steven Scharf, P.E.
Telephone: (518) 402-8594

NYSDEC Region 1 Headquarters
SUNY Campus
Loop Road, Bldg 40
Stony Brook, NY 11790-2356
Attn: Bill Fonda, Citizen Participation Specialist

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) makes its public records available for a review under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).

Bethpage Public Library
Powell Avenue
Bethpage, NY 11714

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