Massive Toxic Chemical Plume Growing Beneath New York Town Can Cause Cancer: Lawsuit

NEW YORK - Sept. 15, 2016 - PRLog -- A massive toxic plume that is expanding beneath a Long Island town is causing its residents to be diagnosed with cancer, according to a class action lawsuit filed today.  Residents of Bethpage, New York have filed a class action lawsuit against Northrop Grumman Corporation claiming the company's faulty disposal of toxic chemicals caused the formation beneath the town.

Independent soil tests performed by the plaintiffs revealed the presence of chemicals known to cause cancer, according to the complaint.

Air within the homes of some Bethpage residents was also found to contain toxic chemicals.

TOWN'S PARK WAS GRUMMAN'S CHEMICAL DUMPING GROUND

A park within the town, used for swimming and playing sports, was once owned by Grumman.  The "Community Park" as it is referred to by residents, was transferred by Grumman to the Town of Oyster Bay in 1962.

Prior to 1962, Grumman used the land to dispose of toxic waste created by its manufacturing operations.  Grumman dug large holes on the land and filled them with sludge that contained cancer-causing chemicals.  When the sludge dried, Grumman employees used backhoes to scrape the sludge and then buried it in other locations within the current park's area.

"Many residents of Bethpage do not know the history of the community park," said Brittany Weiner, an attorney representing the plaintiffs.  "When the park's land had no room left to bury any more toxic waste, Grumman decided to convey the property for use by Bethpage residents," Ms. Weiner said, based upon her review of legal documents.

For the past sixty years, Grumman has caused the release of numerous toxic contaminants, including trichloroethylene ("TCE"), tetrachloroethylene ("PERC"), and other volatile organic compounds ("VOCs"), as well as polychlorinated biphenyls ("PCBs"), arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury into the ground at its facilities. Grumman never timely warned the surrounding community of the contamination and has continuously failed to remediate the contamination.

For years, some residents of Bethpage questioned why the town's cancer diagnosis rate was higher than the national average.  Their concerns escalated when the town's community park was suddenly closed in 2002.  Court documents revealed that the park's soil was contaminated with toxic chemicals, known to cause cancer, including TCE, PCBs, chromium and arsenic.

The toxic groundwater plume injuring Plaintiffs resulted from Grumman's degreasing, plane painting operations, and metal finishing processes at the Nassau County Site, and continues to spread under residential homes in Bethpage.  As a result of the chemicals' extreme volatility, the contaminants are migrating up as vapors through the soil and into the residents' yards, basements, and homes.

Exposed residents are at risk of liver damage, kidney damage, cardiovascular damage, impaired immune system function, bladder cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, renal cell carcinoma, as well as other illnesses and cancers.

Pregnant women are especially at risk, as ingestion could impair fetal development.

Impacted families, such as long-time residents like Rosalie Romano, were never warned of the danger. Ms. Romano, who frequently visited the Bethpage Community Park, has been diagnosed with breast cancer, as has Maria Spicer, Jayne Mann, and Denise Florio, who all live a mile away from each other. Others, such as Daniel Gallante and Sal Raucci have been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The lawsuit seeks a minimum of $500 million in damages for personal injury and property damage claims, as well as punitive damages.

The complaint also seeks the establishment of a medical monitoring program to pay for past and future costs of obtaining necessary medical care to treat the injuries suffered due to the contamination.

The firms created a website, www.bethpagelawsuit.com, to provide residents with details about the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs are represented by the law firms Napoli Shkolnik PLLC and Imbesi Law P.C.

About Napoli Shkolnik PLLC & Imbesi Law P.C.
Napoli Shkolnik PLLC is a national litigation firm, providing representation to victims of, environmental contamination disasters, aviation accidents, defective prescriptions drugs and medical devices, asbestos-related illnesses, complex litigation, wrongful convictions and Civil Rights violations, and other serious personal injury matters. With their principal offices in New York City and additional offices in California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and affiliates through the United States, Napoli Shkolnik PLLC is readily available to clients.

Imbesi Law P.C., represents corporations and individuals in financial, employment and class action litigation.  The firm's attorneys have recovered millions of dollars for their clients.

Imbesi Law P.C. and Napoli Shkolnik PLLC jointly represent clients in more than 20 class action lawsuits filed against such companies as Uber, Starbucks, DraftKings, American Express, FanDuel, and Apple.

Media Contact Information
Hunter J. Shkolnik, Partner
Napoli Shkolnik PLLC
www.napolilaw.com
360 Lexington Avenue, 11^th Floor
New York, New York 10017
(212) 397-1000

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