Lies & Deceit
environmental justice
Parents Against Santa Susana Field Lab represents a large and diverse group of people who live in the communities within 10 miles of the SSFL. We were welcomed into the California Environmental Justice Coalition (CEJC) to help protect the most vulnerable and disproportionately burdened people within our communities.
BOEING’s act of ENVIRONMENTAL racism brings radioactive waste to poc communities
In 2013 Boeing sent contaminated “low-level radioactive” debris from the Santa Susana Field Lab to landfills and construction material recycling centers and unlicensed waste sites.
Unfortunately, according to a study by Committee to Bridge the Gap, thousands of tons of radioactive debris had already reached the recyclers.
Radioactive concrete, asphalt, and metal could be anywhere- in new school sidewalks, in new office buildings, or newly built hospitals. Read the report by Consumer Watchdog, one of four organizations that sued the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and the Department of Public Health (DPH) to stop the dangerous waste.
The lawsuit was filed a day after a letter from Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Race, Poverty, and the Environment outlined concerns and demanded that the agencies stop the pending demolition of a plutonium fuel fabrication building and take immediate steps to prevent additional harm from further demolition and disposal of structures in Area IV. DTSC and DPH did not respond within the designated time period.
The complaint alleged that the DTSC and DHP violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because they did not do any of the required environmental reviews for the demolition of structures in Boeing’s portion of the SSFL, prior to authorizing the demolition and disposal.
Boeing’s contaminated debris from the ssfl
493 tons of contaminated metal were recycled into the commercial metal supply.
2432 tons of contaminated asphalt and concrete were sent for recycling.
153 tons of contaminated debris were disposed of in Buttonwillow, at the “Clean Harbors Landfill” designed only for chemical, not radioactive waste. The Landfill has been operating on a expired permit since 2004. 35.5% of Buttonwillow families live in poverty.
568 tons contaminated debris were disposed at the McKittrick Landfill, designed for industrial, not radioactive waste.
242 tons of contaminated debris were disposed at Azusa and Lancaster regular municipal trash dumps.
Boeing sent contaminated debris to unlicensed waste sites in Buttonwillow, Azusa, Lancaster and McKittrick.
Buttonwillow: POC community, 35.5%of their residents live in poverty. 15% of their residents have asthma and 80% of their babies experienced low birth weight.
McKittrick: 33.3% of their residents live in poverty. According California EnviroStar, 15% of their residents have asthma, 80% of their babies experienced low birth weight.
Azusa: POC community 14.2%of their residents live in poverty. 76% of their residents have asthma and 47% of their babies experienced low birth weight.
Lancaster: 21.7%of their residents live in poverty. 97% of their residents have asthma and 81% of their babies experienced low birth weight.
Cleanup activists with the Rocketdyne Cleanup Coalition protested in 2003 when Boeing tried to ship radioactive waste from a burnpit where radioactive waste was illegally burned to Buttonwillow. In 2013 they had to protest to protect the people of Buttonwillow again.
The people of Buttonwillow have been fighting for years against environmental racism. The majority of the community are immigrants and farm workers. California Environmental Protection Agency’s “CalEnviroScreen 3.0” ranks Buttonwillow as one of the communities most impacted from pollution and other health and socio-economic indicators.
However, Clean Harbor, the Buttonwillow Landfill Facility accepted the SSFL debris, even though it was not built for low-level radioactive waste and the DTSC allowed it. The remarkable thing is that the DTSC hasn’t taken any action against the Buttonwillow dump for operating with a permit that expired in 2006.
