These will not be in effect until finalized (expected in 2024). The EPA proposed a federal MCL of 4 ppt for PFOA and 4 ppt for PFOS in March 2023. EPA requested public comment on the proposed regulation which ended on May 30, 2023. DoD respects and values the public comment process on this proposed nationwide drinking water rule and looks forward to the clarity that a final regulatory drinking water standard for PFAS will provide. In anticipation of the final standard that EPA expects to publish by the end of 2023, the Department is assessing what actions DoD can take to be prepared to incorporate EPA’s final regulatory standard into our current cleanup process, such as reviewing our existing data and conducting additional sampling where necessary.
In addition, DoD will incorporate nationwide PFAS cleanup guidance, issued by EPA and applicable to all owners and operators under the federal cleanup law, as to when to provide alternate water when PFAS are present.
For more information please see the EPA's website by clicking here:
Site 3 – Ammunition Demolition Area
Site 3 – Ammunition Demolition Area was used from 1957 to 1985 for demolition of ammunition-related wastes. Residues of fuel oil (JP-4 and JP-5) were used to destroy the explosive components by dumping them into a kettle fire that was set in a 55-gallon drum placed in an unlined pit. Even though fires were set at this area using waste fuel, it was a contained, controlled burn that most likely smoldered out on its own, so the use of AFFF is unlikely at this Site.
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Site 3 was evaluated in the Initial Assessment Study of NWIRP Bethpage & NWIRP Calverton (December 1986) and recommended for no further study (§2.3.1.3)
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Site 3 was evaluated for potential PFAS release in the Facility-Wide Preliminary Assessment of Potential Sources of PFAS (October 2021) and was recommended no further PFAS evaluation (§3.4.3.2 & Table 3-3).
Site 4 – Picnic Grounds Disposal Area
Site 4 – Picnic Grounds Disposal Area was used as a disposal area from the mid- 1950s through the mid-1980s and consisted of a single trench-style landfill of approximately 60 feet by 40 feet where materials such as framing lumber, snow fencing, steel wall studs, steel stairways and ladders, tubular tow bars, tubular steel supports, foam billets, a plastic nosecone, a card table, stainless steel fabrications, plastics, carpeting, metal fabrications were disposed. No cans, barrels, or other containers which may have held liquid wastes were observed during the initial assessment study in 1986. Site 4 was used primarily as a construction debris landfill, and PFAS-containing materials are unlikely to have been disposed of at this site.
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Site 4 was evaluated in the Initial Assessment Study of NWIRP Bethpage & NWIRP Calverton (December 1986) and was recommended for a Confirmation Study (§2.3.1.4)
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Site 4 was then evaluated in the Final Site Investigation NWIRP Calverton (April 1992). The concentrations of contaminants detected were generally low, near background levels for inorganics or near the detection limits for organics. Based on this, no additional investigation in this area was recommended (§8 & Table 8-1).
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Site 4 was evaluated for potential PFAS release in the Facility-Wide Preliminary Assessment of Potential Sources of PFAS (October 2021) and was recommended no further PFAS evaluation (§3.4.3.3 & Table 3-3).
Grass Fire Area
Grass Fire Area – During the Preliminary Assessment, interviews were conducted with former facility personnel and a grass fire area was identified. The grass fire occurred within the 1996-1998 timeframe inside the fence at the end of the western runway. The interviewee noted that water was used to extinguish the fire, rather than AFFF.
Jet Fuel Spill Site (Area of Concern 09)
Jet Fuel Spill Site (Area of Concern 09) – On June 6, 1985, a tire blowout occurred to an aircraft during takeoff on the western runway and fuel from the aircraft spilled during the incident. AFFF was discharged onto the area where fuel spilled likely either suppress or prevent a fire. The soil impacted by the spill was removed by Grumman Corporation and Marine Pollution Control but PFAS impacts to the area were not investigated at the time.
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AOC 09 was evaluated for potential PFAS release in the Facility-Wide Preliminary Assessment of Potential Sources of PFAS (October 2021) and was recommended to proceed to Site Inspection (§3.4.2.7 & Table 3-3).
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AOC 09 was evaluated for PFAS in the Facility Wide PFAS Site Inspection (October 2023) and no PFAS exceeded the applicable screening levels. The SI concluded that the removal action to address the fuel spill likely removed PFAS-impacted soils and was recommended for no further PFAS evaluation (§4.7).
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During the PFAS Site Inspection, additional samples were collected adjacent to AOC-09 along the western runway and the southwestern fence line to address concerns of any other unidentified PFAS release sites on the western half of the facility that may be negatively impacting groundwater. Concentrations of the PFAS currently used for evaluation were not detected in the majority of these samples, and when they were detected they did not exceed the applicable screening levels.
Based on available information and analytical data, there are no Navy PFAS release areas in the western portion of the facility that are negatively impacting soil or groundwater. Please find the referenced documents on the administrative record at the links below.
Reference Links:
Initial Assessment Study of NWIRP Bethpage, NY and NWIRP Calverton, NY (December 1986)
Final Site Investigation Report (April 1992), Vol. 1
Final Site Investigation Report (April 1992), Vol. 2
Final Site Investigation Report (April 1992), Vol. 3
Facility Wide Preliminary Assessment for Potential Sources of PFAS (October 2021), Vol. 1
Facility Wide Preliminary Assessment for Potential Sources of PFAS (October 2021), Vol. 2
Facility Wide Site Inspection for PFAS (October 2023), Vol. 1
Facility Wide Site Inspection for PFAS (October 2023), Vol. 2