Press Release
Contacts:
Melissa Bumstead | santasusanacampaign@gmail.com | (818) 964-1943
Denise Duffield | ddufield@psr-la.org | (213) 689-9170
Boeing wins, kids lose
January 8, 2026
VENTURA COUNTY – In 2022, Parents Against Santa Susana Field Lab (PASSFL) served as the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and the Boeing Company, challenging the cleanup agreements for the Santa Susana Field Lab, one of California’s most toxic and radioactive Superfund sites, under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Today, the Ventura County Superior Court issued its final ruling, siding with DTSC and Boeing. Boeing has said they intend to begin the cleanup in Summer 2026.
The Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL) is located in the hills between Los Angeles and Simi Valley, an area home to approximately 700,000 residents. During the Cold War, the site was used for rocket engine testing and nuclear reactor experiments, activities that left extensive contamination in soil and groundwater, including long-lasting endocrine-disrupting chemicals, toxic metals, and radioactive waste. A federally funded study found that residents living within two miles of SSFL experienced a 60% higher cancer incidence rate compared to surrounding populations, demonstrating a strong correlation between cancer risks and proximity to the site.
“Boeing had a legal victory today, but at what cost? It will allow children in our community to continue to get preventable cancer,” said Melissa Bumstead, PASSFL founder and mom to a two-time cancer survivor. “The DTSC and Boeing lawyers have to live with the consequences of their actions – kids will get sick because of this – and I don’t envy them.”
The lawsuit centered on the 2022 Settlement Agreement between DTSC and Boeing, which owns 80% of the SSFL, that superseded earlier cleanup agreements at the site that would have removed all man-made contamination, to have been completed by 2017. According to independent analysis, the new agreement will allow Boeing to leave approximately 95% of the contaminated soil onsite after their cleanup is complete. Boeing then plans to open the site to the public as a park. They claim this will meet their legal obligations for a “health protective” cleanup.
This ruling comes despite Boeing’s 2015 risk analysis, which found that some portions of the site are so contaminated that, if left unremediated, an estimated 96 out of 100 hypothetical residents would develop cancer if they lived onsite and consumed food grown there. This level of risk stands in stark contrast to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s excess cancer risk goal for post-cleanup conditions, which seeks to limit risk to no more than 1 additional cancer case per 1,000,000 people.
“The Settlement Agreement didn’t include a required environmental review, a main component of CEQA,” said Denise Duffield, Associate Director for Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles (PSR-LA), a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit. “It was negotiated in private without any representatives for the public interest and was agreed to without any public input. It breaks all their prior promises for a safe and complete cleanup. DTSC reserved $2,000,000 tax-payer dollars for this lawsuit to defeat the community– who are just trying to protect their families and environment from well documented contamination. Once again DTSC has failed to do its job.”
PASSFL intends to push the Cities of Simi Valley and Los Angeles, and the Counties of Los Angeles and Ventura to uphold their motions to sue the DTSC if the cleanup agreements do not result in the removal of all man-made contamination to “background” in a safe and responsible manner.
“Our environment, wildlife, water systems, and our families will continue to be at risk of the Santa Susana’s contamination until it’s cleaned up at the source. Boeing has the capability and more than that, they have a moral obligation to protect us from their site’s toxic and radioactive waste,” said Bumstead. “There’s too much at stake. We refuse to give up.”
REFERENCES:
60% cancer incidence rate: https://parentsagainstssfl.com/healthstudies#health | 60% Higher Cancer Incidence in the Community Surrounding the Rocketdyne Facility in Southern California | Dr. Hal Morgenstern letter
Settlement Agreement Critique: Appendix A Secret Negotiations Between CalEPA & Boeing to Breach Cleanup Obligations for the Santa Susana Field Laboratory | Appendix B Summary Critique of Deal With Boeing to Weaken SSFL Cleanup Requirements | Appendix C Years of Inaction and Broken Promises in Meeting Cleanup Obligations Result in Imminent Endangerment of the Public and Environment
96 out of 100 cancer rate: Final Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Limited Corrective Measures Study Report - Surficial Media Operable Unit, Boeing RFI Subareas, Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Ventura County, California PDF page 72
LA County motions to sue: http://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/bos/supdocs/168622.pdf | https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59d300e51f318d87163cb9bb/t/6108c3d213620c4a9e94e2c1/1627964371107/Motion19-0145_RetainLawFirm.pdf
Ventura County motion to sue: https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/simi-valley/2022/08/09/ventura-county-simi-valley-los-angeles-weighs-legal-action-santa-susana-field-lab-cleanup-epa/10224903002
