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Editorial: Peace of mind at Rocketdyne
Site should be on Superfund list
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More from OpinionFor more than a decade, environmentalists, anti-nuclear activists and homeowners have questioned the level and thoroughness of the cleanup of the contaminated Rocketdyne field laboratory in the hills above Simi Valley. The Department of Energy, charged with overseeing the cleanup, maintains it is meeting all state and federal standards.
Now, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has entered the fray by agreeing to reconsider whether Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Field Laboratory and its contaminated buildings, soil and groundwater should be placed on the federal Superfund cleanup list.
The EPA has twice assessed small parts of the site owned by the Boeing Corp., and both times declined to put the lab on the list the last denial coming in 2003. This time, it plans on studying the entire site, which is polluted with both chemical and radioactive contamination.
The Star urges the EPA to designate the field lab a Superfund site.
As we have argued before, the cleanup effort needs to undergo a thorough review to confirm that the former rocket- and nuclear-testing facility will be cleared of pollutants, to the fullest extent possible, so residents' fears are eased.
The cleanup of the 2,800-acre site has long been a source of suspicion and acrimony. Area residents have criticized the multimillion-dollar cleanup as being too lax and worry contamination will be left behind on land that may one day be used for housing.
It is a worry that has attracted the attention of state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, who has introduced legislation that blocks the use of the land for residential property unless it is cleaned to EPA standards.
The field lab was the site of research into nuclear power in the 1950s and 1960s. A reactor suffered a serious accident in 1959 and the chemicals that contaminated the soil were used during research into methods of cooling atomic reactors. The nuclear operations at the site were ended in the late 1980s.
It's clear that Rocketdyne and DOE officials have failed in the daunting task of easing the community's skepticism concerning possible environmental damage and health problems from the lab.
Given the nature of the testing, documented accidents and spills that occurred there, the only way to narrow the gap between suspicion and progress is to add the field lab to the Superfund list.
Posted by cleanuprocketdyne on April 19, 2007 at 8:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This issue is so important to all of the surrounding communities. Getting EPA as lead oversight and superfund designation will bring the much needed attention and resources to the proper clean-up of the SSFL. Not like the old days where they processed the spent nuclear fuel waste and 2742.74 grams of u235 were disposed of by land burial. This document further discusses a repackaging process where they turned 36 containers into 28 containers. By land burial, onsite, we have heard from former workers at the DOL Rocketdyne meetings conducted earlier this year in Simi Valley regarding the Nuclear Workers Compensation Act, that they were told to bury nuclear waste onsite. How is this possible without notification of the local communities that will live with this decision forever? ...look up the halflife of u235 and think about what this means. What does this say about the morality of the polluter and it's predecessors? What about us?
Just ask around and see how many claims have been paid on the Nuclear Compensation Act, out of hundreds of claims only a handfull. As far as RECA, the downwinders compensation act, California isn't even on the list when the worst nuclear disaster in the history of this country happened right here at Santa Susana.
It is about time that EPA steps in and elevates this tragic site to the SuperFund status needed.
Posted by ThinkingForMySelf on April 19, 2007 at 7:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I hear you loud and clear Cleanup. What a mess. I don't know the details about all that is there, it sickens me to deal with it. I've been debating with another fellow on Nuclear Power. I'm completely against it, but on one thing: I've learned that the French have developed, and are developing reprocessing and recycling techniques that reduce waste dramatically. I'm for this to be done with our stockpile. We could reduce what goes in by I believe 80 to 90 percent. That's a big deal.
Posted by pattyc1217 on May 4, 2007 at 6 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The Simi Valley City Council has remained silent on the issue of contamination at the SSFL for far too long. They have approved a residential development within 2 miles of the laboratory in Runkle Canyon based on an inaccurate EIR submitted by the developer. The Mayor, City Manager, and council members need to put the health of citizens ahead of profit concerns.
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