CONTACTS

Melissa Bumstead
Co-director
Parents Against SSFL
santasusanacampaign@gmail.com
(818) 233-0642

Denise Duffield
Associate Director
PSR-LA
dduffield@psr-la.org
(310) 339-9676 

LOGISTICS

PASSFL Peaceful Protest
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
5:30 - 6:00 pm

DTSC Chatsworth Office
9211 Oakdale Avenue
Chatsworth, CA 91311

Press Advisory

December 3, 2024

Parents Living Near One Of California’s Most Toxic Sites To Protest Broken Cleanup Promises

Parents and residents will protest broken promises of a complete “Background Cleanup” at the Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL) ahead of a public meeting by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). 

The 2,850 acre site is located in the hills between Simi Valley and Los Angeles and was used for decades to test rocket engines and for nuclear experimentation. Today, the area remains heavily contaminated with toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and radioactive waste, affecting the environment and health of the surrounding communities.

The DTSC meeting will focus on the areas of the site scheduled for cleanup by two of the Responsible Parties: NASA and the Department of Energy (DOE). In 2010, the state agency signed a binding agreement with NASA and DOE to remove all man-made contamination, restoring the site to naturally occurring "background" levels. 

However, in the 2023 Programmatic Environmental Impact Report for the site, the DTSC allowed sweeping areas of NASA and DOE’s areas to be excused from the cleanup by misusing biological and cultural exemptions. Though NASA and DOE’s areas at the SSFL are heavily contaminated, the new provision will allow over 60% of their combined areas to be left dangerously polluted for perpetuity.

Now, the DTSC claims that the remaining 40% of NASA and DOE’s property will not likely be cleaned up to “Background” for chemical constituents due to miscalculations and technical difficulties. Grassroots group Parents Against SSFL says this is just another excuse in a long line of broken promises.

“We’re watching the complete cleanup disappear before our eyes,” says Melissa Bumstead, who founded Parents Against SSFL after her daughter was diagnosed with a rare cancer in 2014. “It all comes down to money. NASA and the Department of Energy don’t want to pay for the site’s complete cleanup even though they know it’s harming our community and environment. It’s not right, and we won’t stand by and let this happen.”

To learn more about the site, visit www.parentsagainstssfl.com.

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