July 2009

U.S. Water News Online

CALVERTON, N.Y. —The Suffolk County Health Department says pollution from a former fighter jet plant is larger and deeper than previously believed.

There are concerns that industrial solvents and other chemicals from the former Calverton, N.Y., plant could harm the Peconic River and aquifers that supply drinking water.

The county has detected trace levels of contamination in the river.

The Navy says the pollution will likely diminish on its own. It says monitoring is preferable to active cleanup “unless there is an unacceptable impact to the river.”

The plume is a quarter of a mile wide and 35 to 60 feet deep. Trace levels were 115 feet deep in one spot.

The results were first reported in the Riverhead News-Review.

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