About
One of California’s most toxic and radioactive superfund sites in the hills near Los Angeles is still harming the environment, water sources, wildlife, and people living nearby.
Overview of the Santa Susana Field Lab
LA’s Worst Kept Secret
The Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL), formerly known as Rocketdyne, is located in the hills outside of Los Angeles. The SSFL was used for rocket engine tests for “America’s Race to Space,” beginning in 1949, and for experimental nuclear work that began in 1953. The site was also used for rocket fuel, liquid metals, and chemical laser research.
The site’s “background” cleanup deadline to remove all man-made contamination of 2017 has passed without the full cleanup beginning. Dangerous chemicals, toxic metals, and radionuclides continue to migrate into local communities through the wind, rain, and during wildfire events.
Responsible parties
The SSFL’s Responsible Parties (the Boeing Company, which owns the majority of the site, NASA, and the Department of Energy) have gone to great lengths to break out of their cleanup agreements to leave most of the site polluted with dangerous amounts of contamination while claiming they are doing a “health-protective” cleanup that could result in 96 out of 100 people to get cancer if they lived on portions of the site and ate the produce grown there.
FAQ
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The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is the CalEPA agency in charge of enforcing the cleanup of the soil and groundwater. The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board oversees the NPDES rain runoff permit.
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The SSFL was originally used for rocket engine testing for America’s “Race to Space” during the Cold War.
In the 1950s experimental nuclear energy facilities were added in “Area IV,” including 10 nuclear reactors. One of these, the SRE reactor had a partial meltdown in 1959, in addition to three other reactor accidents. There were no containment structures at any of the reactors.
Across the SSFL there were toxic and radioactive leaks, spills, fires, open air burn pits, and illegal waste management practices that resulted in an FBI raid in 1996. The SSFL was shut down in 2006. -
Yes. Unfortunately. We have federally-funded and peer-reviewed studies to prove that the SSFL is causing diseases in the people living near the site. Dr. Morgenstern’s study shows a 60% higher cancer incidence rate— a definitive study that shows a correlation between the SSFL and cancer.
We also know from our “Citizen Science Toxic Mapping Project” that children and adults living near the SSFL are still getting incredibly rare cancers- above national averages.Boeing’s own data shows that some areas are so toxic that 96 out of 100 people would get cancer if they lived onsite and ate the produce they grew.
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The complete cleanup and a permanent groundwater remediation system were to be completed by the Fall of 2017. Minor remediations across the site have occurred but not the long-awaited site-wide cleanup.
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Yes — and a complete “background’ cleanup can be done responsibly and safely. However, the best methods are also the most expensive to the Responsible Parties (Boeing, NASA, and the Department of Energy). That’s why PASSFL is fighting for the smartest, safest, and most complete cleanup possible in order to protect our environment, wildlife, water, and people living nearby.
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The Responsible Parties (Boeing, NASA, and the Department of Energy) are very powerful. They have the money, time, and energy to hire lawyers, lobbyists, and PR teams to sway decision makers.
In the end, it comes down to money. The “Responsible Parties” value profit more than people.
The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), which is in charge of enforcing the SSFL cleanup, has been accused from Environmental Justice sites across CA for catering to polluters instead of protecting people. We’ve seen it at SSFL for decades. The DTSC allows mismanagement of the cleanup in order to gain favor instead of putting our lives first.
Background cleanup to remove all man-made contamination. Remediation areas shown in green
MAPs
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Topographic view of Santa Susana Field Lab location overlay on Google Earth Map.
Santa Susana Field Lab shown as headwaters of two watersheds.
