Navy: Cleanup at Calverton has been ongoing

For more than 30 years, the Navy has worked to investigate and remediate environmental contamination resulting from Northrop Grumman’s decades‑long operations at Former Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant (NWIRP) Calverton. The Navy’s Environmental Restoration Program (ERP) at the site is a mature, ongoing effort focused on cleaning up contamination released at the facility and managing any migration that may have occurred beyond the original release areas.

Acting in coordination with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), the Navy has, since 1996, achieved all cleanup goals for 11 sites, supported through actions such as:

• Treatment of more than 184 million gallons of contaminated groundwater

• Removal of 63,000 pounds of organic compounds and hydrocarbons

• Excavation of 33,572 tons of contaminated soil

• Removal of 1,171 munitions‑related items

The Navy recognizes that Suffolk County residents are concerned about Northrop Grumman’s historical use of emerging contaminants, polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 1,4-dioxane, and potential health impacts.

The Navy has been evaluating historical PFAS releases at Former NWIRP Calverton since 2016 and prioritized efforts to identify and address PFAS in drinking water. The Navy has completed several rounds of private well sampling, as thresholds have developed, to sample drinking water wells for PFAS in the direction of groundwater flow away from the former Grumman facility. The Navy has offered, and continues to offer, free sampling of private drinking water wells within the Navy’s testing areas downgradient of Former NWIRP Calverton, where PFAS‑impacted groundwater could potentially migrate. Participation in this no‑cost program is entirely voluntary, and some homeowners have chosen not to participate.

Although the threshold for taking action has changed as the science and regulatory environment has evolved, the Navy has never detected a private drinking water well that exceeded the relevant action threshold.

The Navy has now reviewed the results of Suffolk County’s separate private drinking water sampling efforts. Although the Navy is unable to validate whether this separate sampling effort conformed to the Navy’s stringent sampling and analysis protocols, the county private drinking water well results are consistent with the Navy’s sampling results: no private drinking water wells within the Navy’s designated testing areas contained concentrations that exceed the relevant action threshold.

In coordination with NYSDEC, and in parallel with private drinking water well sampling efforts, the Navy is evaluating other potential exposure pathways. The Navy sampled tissue of adult fish taken from Swan Pond and has initiated a treatment project to reduce PFAS concentrations in Swan Pond.

Additionally, the Navy is also conducting a comprehensive investigation into the presence of 1,4‑dioxane, with sampling planned to start in 2027.

Although mentioned in comparison due to their geographic proximity, it’s important to recognize that Former NWIRP Calverton and Former NWIRP Bethpage are distinct and separate sites. Each has its own history, contaminants of concern, and groundwater conditions. What remains consistent across both locations is the Navy’s commitment to transparency, public engagement, and continued environmental progress as it addresses both legacy contaminants and emerging chemicals of concern.

Community members are encouraged to attend the June Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) meeting, which will be presented in a virtual format, to learn more about ongoing and upcoming remediation activities at the site.

David Todd is a spokesperson for NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic, the Navy’s shore facilities and base operating support engineering systems command.

Editor’s note: This statement was submitted to RiverheadLOCAL in response to a request for comment for an article about a community meeting convened by Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine on April 28. It was submitted after publication of the article and is published in its entirety here.