News broke Jan. 30 that past use and storage of a firefighting foam at the airport could have contaminated drinking water supplies.
Airport officials said Monday they have not used the foam at the airport since at least 2000.
Water samples taken at a nearby well in January detected a compound known as perfluorooctane sulfonate, or PFOS, above federal health advisory levels, officials from the state Department of Environmental Conservation have said.
“I obviously don’t want my family or anyone else’s family consuming water that is contaminated.” Legis.
The well with the contaminated sample is in Bohemia, about 7,500 feet from the airport.
“We want to reassure the public that the drinking water in the community meets all federal and state guidelines,” Szabo said.
It was removed.” Some residents said they were reassured by the efforts in place but want transparency going forward on all testing, including a preliminary investigation that the state Department of Environmental Conservation will be overseeing in the next several months.
“I just hope that they collaborate with the town and the [Suffolk County] health department and all the other necessary intermediaries to make sure we’re safe.” Some residents said they were frustrated that the testing identifying PFOS in the water was not shared with the DEC when it was found in July 2016.
The DEC was told about one detection of 95 parts per trillion in mid-January and began looking for potential source areas, ending up at the 1,311-acre airport site.
The potential site designation means Islip Town, which owns MacArthur, needs to investigate the soil, groundwater and other site conditions; if the town fails to do so, the DEC will tap state Superfund money.