The military is criticizing a plan to clean up underground water contamination linked to the old Grumman site in Bethpage.

Some residents are also siding with the military, saying the plan doesn't make sense. But environmentalists and residents say a plan needs to be put in place for the good of county residents.

Mike Ingenito, who has lived in Bethpage for most of his life, says something in the water killed his wife Josephine. They were married for 63 years and had five children.

"My wife died, my neighbor died, the woman across the street died -- a lot of people in Bethpage died from cancer and it was from the contamination from Grumman," Ingenito said.

The 93-year-old World War II veteran worked for Grumman. He says he is not surprised to hear news that Northrop Grumman is not on board with a $585 million plan to clean up groundwater that was contaminated by aerospace manufacturing.

Northrop Grumman is calling the plan to clean up the toxic plume proposed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, "unnecessary, infeasible and impractical."

Company officials said in a statement to News 12, "Northrop Grumman remains committed to working with all stakeholders to provide fact-based, scientifically-sound remediation efforts that advance the cleanup and help to protect the community."

The DEC issued a statement in response that said, "We will use all legal authority to compel the responsible parties to clean up their mess and make this community whole."

According to the DEC, the Bethpage plume is more than 4 miles long, 2 miles wide and heads south toward Massapequa at about a foot a day. Officials estimate it contains 24 contaminants, many considered to be carcinogens

Once a plan is agreed on and implemented, officials estimate it will take more than a century to get all the pollutants out of the groundwater.

READ MORE: 
Residents fear Bethpage plume cleanup plan could close down streets
State acknowledges potential harmful effects of Bethpage plume
Cuomo announces DEC proposal to clean up toxic Bethpage plume
New water treatment facility to combat Bethpage toxic plume
Gov. Cuomo announces $150M to clean up and contain Bethpage plume