Northrop to build groundwater clean-up system at California facility

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered Northrop Grumman Systems to build a $20m groundwater clean-up system at the Benchmark Technology facility in California, US.

The Benchmark Technology facility is one of the largest sources of volatile organic compound (VOC) groundwater contamination in Puente Valley.

Northrop Grumman will install wells and a treatment plant to contain and treat groundwater contaminated by VOCs and 1,4-dioxane.

The treated water will then be discharged back to the surface water or injected back into the underground aquifer, providing additional water resources to San Gabriel Valley residents.

The EPA’s regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest Jared Blumenfeld said that the treatment system is designed to intercept the most highly contaminated groundwater plume and prevent it from migrating further.