Laboratory test results completed on 16 of the 22 chemical drums discovered at Bethpage Community Park show they contain manufacturing chemicals including oil-based compounds, metals and degreasers.
The test results are not a surprise according to environmental officials who’ve been supervising the cleanup efforts, who said the results are in line with long-established findings of pollution at the site.
Military contractor Grumman Aerospace disposed chemicals in the area from the 1940s through the 1960s, causing an underground plume of toxins dubbed the "Bethpage Plume."
Six more drums still need to be tested. The first cache of 55-gallon drums was discovered earlier this year.
Soil tests near where the drums were found show contamination, but officials said that’s from past dumping at the site. There’s no evidence that the concrete-encased drums leaked.
