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Friday, June 16, 2017
Vol. 77, No. 24
Elevated radium levels found under Bethpage HS
LEVITTOWN RECYCLES
BY GARY SIMEONE
Under the direction of Jonas E. Salk Middle School Spanish teachers Veronica Miller and Denise La Volpe, eighth-grade students collaborated on an Earth Day awareness service-learning project. Spanish students decorated paper bags with the intention of promoting recycling in the community by creating individual art designs and using the Earth as the focal point. Students then wrote positive phrases in Spanish about the importance of keeping the community clean. The bags were then donated to Trader Joe’s in Merrick where they were displayed.
17 students graduate with flying colors BY GARY SIMEONE
Last Wednesday was a major milestone in the lives of 17 preschool aged children of the Morgan Center of Hicksville. The kids who all suffer from different types of Cancer, graduated the preschool in front of their parents and instructors. The Morgan
Center was founded in 2003 by Rod and Nancy Zuch, after their daughter Morgan was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of two. “Seventeen of our kids ages three to five either graduated or moved up a year in our ceremony,” said Tammy Severino, Director of Development at the Morgan Center. “It was a nice scene with
all the kids dressed up in their white caps and gowns, little dresses and they all threw their caps in the air at the end.” Each of the children received a diploma and at the end of the ceremony a little party was thrown for them inside the Hicksville Athletic Center, complete with clowns, See page 16
Just a few weeks after a public meeting was held at Bethpage High School concerning the cleanup of the Navy Grumman plume, the State DEC issued a report about elevated radium levels in the groundwater wells beneath the school. The report which was issued in May, is entitled, “Volatile Vapor Intrusion and Groundwater Analytical Report with Radon Testing.” Radium and its decay products are listed as known human carcinogens by the American Cancer Society. Groundwater testing, which is done on a periodic basis in three locations around the school property, indicated detections reported as radium 226/228. Radium levels were found to be below EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) levels of 4 picoCuries per liter and well below New York State’s standard for drinking water at 5 picoCuries per liter. “The DEC has conferred with the Department of Health regarding the significance of the detections of radium in the groundwater monitoring wells at the school,” said Erica Ringewald, DEC Department spokesperson. “After reviewing the report, the DEC has identified no immediate health concerns for students, staff or visitors to Bethpage High School.” She said that it was also important to note that the school is served with water provided by the Bethpage Water District which is rigorously tested, including monitoring for radium and free of contamination. The elevated levels of radium found in the wells comes at a time when there have been several public meetings, dating back to March, on the topic of the ever spreading Grumman Navy plume. The plume has been a major topic of concern for area residents and Long Islanders in general. Martin Brand, Deputy Commissioner for Remediation and Materials Management at the DEC, recently attended a May meeting on the plume. He said the recent discovery of radium in the groundwater wells was unrelated to the Grumman Navy plume and is not a cause for concern for residents. See page 16
Lee Ave. students see Mad Science PAGE 10 Stepping out on the dance floor PAGE 17