More than 1,600 barrels of toxic waste have been removed from the Lawrence Aviation Industries site.
By April J. Warren
David Johnson slid out of the front seat of his cobalt blue pick-up truck and onto the gravel parking lot of Port Jefferson’s Centennial Park. He walked to the back of his pickup truck to unload more than 10 bags of garbage.
“We were able to get about one ton off the beach today,” said Johnson, looking out across the harbor. Since 2005, Johnson, the executive director of Coastal Steward, a local non profit group that organizes and sponsors beach cleanups, has been combing the beaches of Port Jefferson, cleaning up everything from bottles and cans to lawn furniture and corroded barrels.
But after a three-hour beach cleanup on a Saturday morning in early spring, Johnson stood on the shore and squinted out into the placid harbor. He knows there are some pollutants that can’t be removed in a plastic garbage bag.
“What worries me are the heavy metals,” Johnson said. “Heavy metals are bad.”
According to a study released in January, the underground toxic waste plume emanating from the Lawrence Aviation Industries Superfund site is now threatening the harbor that Coastal Steward is fighting to protect. The abandoned factory is located 1.5 miles south of the harbor at a higher elevation, which is causing the plume to run down gradient.
