OFfsite Contamination

UCLA Study | Brandeis-Bardin | Southern Buffer | Runkle Canyon | Dayton Creek | Bell Canyon

For years the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has been adamant that zero SSFL contamination migrates offsite… or if it does, it’s not in amounts above EPA levels of concern. They’ve been consistent in this message- even when it contradicts data.

The radioactive and chemical waste at the SSFL isn’t buried in barrels underground, or stored in vaults. It’s in the soil and water as a result of decades of spills, fires, meltdowns, explosions, leaks, and accidents. That’s what makes the SSFL contamination so dangerous; it can blow in the wind, wash down the hill in the rain, leach into groundwater, or spread as radioactive ash or dust during wildfires. It’s mobile, it’s hard to trace, and it’s deadly. That’s why we’re fighting for the smartest, safest, and most comprehensive cleanup possible.

UCLA Study

The UCLA study, “Potential for Offsite Exposures Associated with SSFL,” shows contaminants migrated from the Santa Susana Field laboratory to nearby communities. The study was headed by Dr. Yoram Cohen, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director of the UCLA Center for Environmental Risk Reduction.

Soil and sediment monitoring studies were conducted in four main areas off the SSFL site. These include the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Ahmanson Ranch, and the Bell Canyon areas. Samples were analyzed for a variety of chemicals and radionuclides. Although sampling in offsite areas was limited, the detection of radionuclide and chemical contaminants in the samples suggests that contaminants migrated from SSFL to these offsite locations (Appendix H).

Maps to the left show soil and sediment samples that were collected in areas of Bell Canyon that were likely to have been impacted by surface water flow from the SSFL site.

Brandeis-Bardin: Camp Alonim

southern buffer

The “Southern Buffer” was purchased by Boeing in 1997 from the adjoining Brandeis-Bardin Institute, after a lawsuit alleging decades of nuclear and chemical research at the SSFL had polluted the institute’s water and land. Boeing and Brandeis-Bardin reached a $3.2 million settlement, and Brandeis-Bardin sold the Northern Buffer to Boeing for $200,000.

Runkle Canyon Homes

Runkle Ranch is the site of a residential development in Simi Valley. The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that supported the approval of the project briefly addressed the potential for contamination to reach Runkle Canyon and concluded that it was not an issue. 58 of the 1,999 follow-up strontium measurements exceeded the 0.1 pCi/gram background figure cited in the EIR (as we shall see, that figure is actually twice background), and virtually all exceed the EPA’s Preliminary Remediation Goals (PRGs).

Committee to Bridge the Gap, 2006: Radioactive Contamination at Runkle Ranch

QST Environmental Inc., 1999: Preliminary Soil Study at Runkle Ranch

dayton canyon

Dayton Creek has been dangerously contaminated with incredibly high levels of perchlorate, in addition to dangerous radionuclides such as Cesium-137 and Strontium-90. Because of intentionally poor detection methods used by Centex Homes, it is believed that Plutonium-139 also contaminates Dayton Creek. The Dayton Creek runs through Orcutt Ranch and puts its produce at risk of being contaminated.

Further reading:

bell canyon

Sampling by Parents Against Santa Susana Field Lab found Aroclor-1260, a Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), in surface water runoff in Bell Canyon in 2023. According to Boeing’s NPDES permit, there should not be any PCBs in surface water leaving the Santa Susana Field Lab. PCBs are endocrine disruptors, known for causing birth defects, reproduction harm, and thyroid function.