Press Release

VENTURA COUNTY – The Boeing Company, which owns most of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, one of California’s most toxic and radioactive sites, is preparing to demolish five buildings formerly used for Cold War–era nuclear research, including a plutonium fuel facility, which experienced three radioactive accidents. (1)

Because of a 2023 legal victory (2), Boeing will demolish the decommissioned buildings as “abandoned warehouses,” based on problematic studies done in the 1980s. The ruling bars the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) or the Department of Health from overseeing the demolition or the disposal of the waste, which may allow Boeing to send thousands of tons of low-level radioactive waste to recycling centers and less protective, and less expensive, California landfills (3).

According to an independent review (4), the original studies that decommissioned the buildings:

• Conducted in 1986 by Tetra Tech EC Inc., who recently reached a settlement for $57M for falsifying radiological studies at other radioactive site. (5)

• Used now-outdated equipment.

• Used poor testing methodology, resulting in the samples appearing less radioactive.

• Relied on now-obsolete regulations, such as the Atomic Energy Commission Regulation 1.86 that was based on the capacity of the testing equipment and not on health or safety.

• Several buildings still had readings above “background,” or naturally occurring radiation levels, including 88 readings at the plutonium fuel facility.

Parents Against Santa Susana Field Lab (PASSFL) remains concerned that Boeing’s Standard Operating Procedures during the demolition will not adequately protect the public from potential radioactive dust, or from construction vehicles inadvertently tracking contaminated material onto residential roads or freeways. There is also concern that workers will be directly exposed to the radioactive buildings without protective equipment or warning. Boeing has so far refused to answer PASSFL’s detailed questions and requests for clarification.

“I believe my daughter’s cancer was the result of the site’s contamination,” says Melissa Bumstead, Parents Against SSFL founder and Co-Director. “If plutonium-239 gets into our environment then more kids will suffer, for generations. It seems Boeing doesn’t care about our families, they just care about saving money.”

Boeing has similarly provided limited responses to PASSFL’s requests about where the waste will be sent, referring to its website that vaguely states, “All building debris will be disposed of at an authorized facility.” (6) In 2013, Boeing sent thousands of tons of Area IV debris, which appeared to be radioactive, to recyclers and municipal landfills. (4) Due to the incredibly long hazardous life of material such as plutonium-239, PASSFL is extremely concerned that the material in a less protective landfill may harm people now and for thousands of generations.

More detailed information is available on our website: https://parentsagainstssfl.com/radioactive

REFERENCES:

(1) 2012 EPA: Final Technical Memorandum: Subarea HSA-5C Historical Site Assessment, Santa Susana Field Laboratory Site, Area IV Radiological Study, Ventura County, California | 2025 Ventura County Boeing’s Ministerial Zone Clearance Application | 1986 Rockwell International "Final Radiation Survey of the NMDF"

(2) 2023 Court of Appeals Ruling: Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles

(3) 2013 Boeing’s Revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) With Amendment 2

(4) 2013 Committee to Bridge the Gap: Demolition of Radioactive Structures and the Disposal and Recycling of the Debris from the SSFL

(5) 2026 Department of Justice: Tetra Tech EC Inc. Agrees to Pay $57M to Settle False Claims Act Allegations for Falsifying Soil Test Results at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco

(6) Boeing’s Santa Susana Field Lab website, Frequently Asked Questions