Pre-meeting “Soil Smarts”

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is hosting two “Soil Smarts” meetings in November and December of 2024. In preparation of the misinformation we know they’ll present, PASSFL created a Pre-Meeting zoom to explain what the background cleanup is, why it matters, how NASA and the Department of Energy have tried to break their promises before, and how they’re breaking them now. The zoom breaks down a complicated technical understanding of the cleanup agreements at the SSFL into something understandable.

PEIR will be released in 2023

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has said the SSFL’s final Programmatic Environmental Impact Reports (PEIR) will be released sometime in May or June, 2023.

The draft EIR was last issued in 2015. It is assumed that the DTSC will allow NASA and Department of Energy (DOE) to break their existing cleanup agreements from 2010, similar to how they allowed Boeing to write a new cleanup agreement in 2022 that will leave 90-95% of the contamination onsite permanently.

It’s also assumed that any changes in the PEIR (which will include the Settlement Agreement) will trigger a CEQA lawsuit from the City of Los Angeles, the County of Los Angeles, and the County of Ventura. According to CEQA, there can’t be significant changes between the draft and final agreement, as that would violate the public's right to comment on the changes.

Read more about the original 2010 “AOC” agreements here: https://parentsagainstssfl.com/cleanupagreements/#AOC

Boeing Breaks Cleanup Agreement

In May, 2022 the Boeing Company, which owns 80% of the Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL), broke existing agreements with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).

The former 2007 cleanup agreement was a comprehensive cleanup that would remove most of Boeing’s chemical and radioactive contamination at the SSFL, protecting the environment, water, wildlife and the +700,000 people living nearby.

DTSC and Boeing claim the new, erroneously named “Settlement Agreement” will be faster, cheaper, and more comprehensive than the 2007 agreement, but a review by Committee to Bridge the Gap assessment and an investigate article by Reuters contradict those claims. The new agreement will leave 90-95% of the contaminated soil onsite, permanently.

The Settlement Agreement didn’t take effect until a vote by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (LARWQCB) in August of 2022. Their vote on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will release Boeing from their National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), which monitors pollution into the local waterways.

Main issues in Settlement Agreement

• Settlement Agreement supersedes most of the 2007 Agreement, resulting in 95% of the contaminated soil remaining on site.

• Agreement was negotiated in private without any representatives for the public interest, and was agreed to without any public input.

• Agreement didn’t follow the CEQA process, a legally required environmental review. Parents Against SSFL, Physicians for Social Responsibility- Los Angeles (PSR-LA), and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) are currently suing DTSC and Boeing over the Settlement Agreement.

The documentary didn’t tell the whole story.

The documentary about the families fighting for the cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL) didn’t tell the whole story.

It couldn’t. The story is still happening now, as of August 2022. And the situation has never been more dire.

In May 2022, the Boeing Company, which owns most of the SSFL, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) signed a new deal that re-writes the 2007 cleanup agreement. The new agreement, erroneously referred to as a Settlement Agreement by Boeing and DTSC, massively weakens the cleanup. According to Dan Hirsch (president of the independent watchdog group, Committee to Bridge the Gap), as much as 95% of Boeing’s chemically contaminated soil could remain permanently.

The 2007 cleanup agreement that Boeing signed twenty years ago was to have been completed by 2017 and would have left the site safe enough for people to hypothetically live there, grow backyard gardens, and still have only 1 in 1,000,000 risk of getting cancer from it. DTSC has never put forward an official reason why the original cleanup agreement was never enforced.

According to the 800-page Settlement Agreement document, the risk of people living there and eating home-grown produce is 1 in 10,000 people getting cancer, which doesn’t just violate EPA standards, it’s downright dangerous to the people who live nearby.

The Settlement Agreement was signed without a public comment period, without the approval of the many engaged federal and local elected officials and governments, and without environmental review, which violates California Environmental law.

But the fight isn’t over yet.

Boeing got greedy. For decades, Boeing has violated their NPDES permit, which monitors and enforces how much contamination flows offsite from the Santa Susana Field Lab and into the local waterways when it rains. Boeing has had a multitude of fines and it’s a glaring reminder to the public how dangerous the SSFL is. Boeing has tried to weaken their NPDES permit, but Parents Against SSFL and other organizations fought them.

Instead, Boeing has created a Memorandum of Understanding (M-O-U) proposal that would allow them to forgo their NPDES permit after their bogus cleanup is completed. Obviously, this would be a disaster. It would allow Boeing to discharge unlimited amounts of dangerous chemical contamination when it rains, polluting the headwaters of the Los Angeles River and Ventura County’s Callegus Creek Watershed.

We’re especially concerned about the Callegus Creek Watershed because, according to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, the watershed provides drinking water to a large number of residents. It’s used for crop irrigation, recreation, and drains into the Pacific Ocean.

There are 310 contaminants of concern have been documented at the SSFL. These already pollute the local water, but with restrictions from the NPDES permit. These include dangerous heavy metals such as high levels of lead, arsenic, cyanide, and magnesium. There are also dangerous chemicals at the SSFL that are endocrine disruptors and cause developmental delays, birth defects, autoimmune diseases, and even cancer. Many of these chemicals are known as “forever chemicals” because they will take centuries to break down in the environment.

Without an NPDES permit, Boeing won’t have to monitor how many of these contaminants flow from the SSFL into the local waterways permanently.

That’s why we need 100s of people to help us fight back against Boeing’s greed.

We need people to attend the next Water Quality Control Board meeting on August 11, 2022, in person or virtually, to tell the board why residents deserve safe water. It’s the public’s only opportunity to have a say because the board will vote that afternoon. And if Boeing gets their way, our community, wildlife and environment will be devastated because it’s very difficult to clean up groundwater once it’s been polluted.

Only YOU can tell the water board why safe and clean water matters to you. The board members will hear from Boeing’s scientists and lobbyists, and lawyers. But your voice is even stronger because it’s real. It’s personal. It can change the hearts and minds of the water board. It takes less than 3 minutes to speak.

Don’t have all day?

No problem. Sign up, and we’ll send you text alerts to let you know 15 minutes before the public comment period begins on August 11th. Hopefully, that’ll save you an hour or more by bypassing the opening presentations. Click here to sign up for text alerts on the day of the hearing.

Never given a public comment in a meeting before?

We’re here to help. We can help you draft it, and we can arrange a zoom meeting with you if you’d like to practice it out loud with us. Click here to sign up for help with your comment, or you can use the script below. 

“My name is __________________ and in live in _________________ city. 

I don’t want dangerous contamination from the Santa Susana Field Lab to get into ______________________ (pick one or both: Ventura County’s groundwater or the Los Angeles River). 

I care because _______________________ (pick one or more: I drink Ventura County water, I bathe my kids in Ventura County water, I kayak in the Los Angeles River, I fish in the local creeks, I surf at the beach, I eat produce grown in Ventura County, wildlife needs clean water, I care about Indigenous values, etc). 

That’s why I’m asking the Water Quality Control Board members to vote NO on Boeing’s M-O-U proposal and keep Boeing’s N-P-D-E-S permit in place instead. Thank you.”

August 11th Details

What: Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board “MOU” hearing
When: Thursday, August 11, 2022
Time: Meeting starts at 10:00 am, public comment period likely to begin 1-2 hours after
In-person: City Hall 23920 Valencia Blvd., #120, Valencia, CA 91355
Virtually: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LSbsCG2gT_C1925beCC7wQ 

Questions?

Email us at santasusanacampaign@gmail.com and we’ll try to get back to you as quickly as possible.

Emmy Nominated

The SSFL documentary, “In the Dark of the Valley” has been nominated for an Emmy in the “Best Social Issue Documentary” category. You can watch it on Peacock TV or on NBC.com.

Boeing's $1M Greenwashing Campaign

February 10, 2022

Boeing recently donated one million dollars to a wildlife corridor overpass near Los Angeles. The overpass is a critical project that will expand the ranges of local wildlife by allowing them to safely cross the 101 freeway, enriching the genetic diversity of many species at risk, such as the Los Angeles mountain lions.

Boeing didn’t do it because they love nature. Instead, Boeing is trying to avert the public’s attention to the fact that they are responsible for approximately one billion dollars to clean up the Santa Susana Field Lab, located directly across from the exact same wildlife corridor overpass they donated to which they donated.

Chances are you’ve never heard of the Santa Susana Field Lab (formerly known as Rocketdyne), though it’s the location of one of America’s worst nuclear meltdowns. It’s also one of California’s most toxic sites. The Boeing Corporation currently owns most of the site’s 2,850 acres and they’re responsible for its cleanup, along with the Department of Energy and NASA.

While America tried to beat the Soviets in the “Race to Space,” the Santa Susana Field Lab was a rocket engine testing site. Over 30,000 rocket engine tests were conducted at the SSFL, contaminating the soil and groundwater with hundreds of thousands of gallons of Trichloroethylene (TCE), perchlorate, dioxins, PCBs, and dozens of other dangerous chemicals.

In the 1950s, the Santa Susana Field Lab teamed up with the Atomic Energy Commission and built ten experimental nuclear reactors there, including the infamous Sodium Reactor Experiment. Its partial meltdown may have released 459 times more radiation than the Three Mile Island accident. The lab was further contaminated by heavy metal experiments, radioactive fires, spills, accidents, and irresponsible waste disposal practices such as shooting barrels full of contamination in order to explode them, resulting in the deaths of two scientists.

In a study of over 4,500 Santa Susana Field Lab employees, workers were found to have “the effect of radiation exposure six to eight times greater than extrapolated from the results of the A-bomb survivors study.” A federally funded study showed a 60% higher cancer incidence rate for residents living within two miles of the SSFL, compared to those living five miles away. The area also has a 10–20% higher invasive breast cancer rate than most of California. According to a study by Boeing, some areas of the Santa Susana Field Lab are so contaminated, that if people were to live there and eat the produce they grew there, 96 out of 100 people would get cancer in their lifetime.

CalEPA Secretary Jared Blumenfeld said of the site, "It was important work but it had a huge toxic legacy. The level of toxicity, the history there, and when you’re on-site it’s just depressing. I mean, everywhere you look there were flagrant violations of even what they knew back then."

The Sodium Reactor Experiment Building at the SSFL, 1959

In 2007 Boeing signed a cleanup agreement with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control agency (DTSC). The cleanup would comply with existing environmental laws and would remediate the site to match Ventura County’s “open space” zoning, which includes agricultural and rural residential land uses. It stated the cleanup would be completed by 2017 and that a permanent groundwater remedy would be in place by that time as well.

It’s now 2022 and no meaningful cleanup has begun, no permanent groundwater system is working. Boeing worked diligently to protect its stockholders and profit margin instead. Boeing has suggested that they plan to leave up to 90% of the SSFL site contaminated and they might walk away from all groundwater remediation.

Of course, this wouldn’t look good for their image. So in 2012, Boeing hired a PR company to help them “overcome negative perceptions using a countervailing narrative of environmental values, safety, and corporate responsibility.” No doubt Boeing’s 737 crashes that killed almost three hundred and fifty people made their “safety and corporate responsibility” line a little harder to swallow. Yet Boeing persisted in its greenwashing campaign.

The PR firm would also assist Boeing in, “shifting discussions from a site with a sordid past to one with potential,” by multiplying allies because, “third parties add credibility and authenticity and blunt greenwashing accusations.” It’s no coincidence that many of these third parties are deeply involved in wildlife corridor crossing.

Boeing has made stirring commercials about the Santa Susana Field Lab, where naturalists claim the toxic land is “the best classroom you could offer children [to learn about nature].” They’ve made glossy pocket guides to take hiking. You can use these on Earth Day, when Boeing gives hiking tours across the site. But first you must sign their waiver, releasing them from any health-related liabilities that you, or your offspring, might incur from your time in the contaminated hills.

But not all of those involved with the wildlife crossing are fans of Boeing or its greenwashing tactics.

"I’d rather they’d spend their money on cleaning up SSFL to protect people's health," Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks said, in response to the issue. Supervisor Parks has been involved with the wildlife crossing since 2014. Parks is also a long-time advocate for the complete cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Lab. In a public workgroup meeting, Parks said, “We must clean up the [SSFL] site so that it is no longer polluted or toxic to people.”

That’s the one thing Boeing doesn’t want people to remember. The site is toxic.

Workers at the Santa Susana Field Lab (formerly known as Rocketdyne), 1999

Boeing’s contact with the media about their donation carefully omitted the fact that the Santa Susana Field Lab’s contamination is incredibly toxic to the same local wildlife they claim to be protecting

Boeing is currently trying to relax their national stormwater pollution discharge permit (NPDES) so they can release even higher amounts of chemicals and heavy metals like lead, mercury, and selenium into the Los Angeles River and Calleguas Creek Watersheds. Obviously, the toxins would impact the wildlife in these areas, several of which are threatened or endangered.

There are projects to restore and protect Los Angeles River’s Steelhead Trout, which are now endangered. The Calleguas Creek Watershed is an Area of Special Biological Significance (ASBS) and supports a great diversity of wildlife, including several endangered birds and one endangered plant species. Many residents who live in the Calleguas Creek Watershed area rely upon the groundwater for drinking water and agricultural use.

Only 35 out of the Santa Susana Field Lab’s 310 historically documented chemicals of concern are being monitored by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. Seven of the unmonitored chemicals are on the National Recommended Water Quality Aquatic Life Criteria Table and can flow off the site in unlimited amounts. Two examples are;

• Aldrin: due to its carcinogenic effects, the ambient water concentration level for Aldrin and its derivative, Dieldrin, should be 0 micrograms per liter. Dieldrin is stable in the environment and can bioaccumulate in the food chain, resulting in a lethal concentration for its consumer. These have been the subject of litigation for the contention that they cause severe aquatic environmental change.

• Endrin: is highly toxic to mammals and is also highly toxic to birds, honeybees, and most aquatic organisms. Endrin can enter into rivers, lakes, or streams through rain or irrigation runoff and has been found concentrated in fish and other aquatic animals. It will remain in the soil for years.

None of the science seems to hinder Boeing’s greenwashing claims.

“Today’s investment [to the wildlife corridor overpass] demonstrates our ongoing commitment to preserving the unique wild heritage and biodiversity of the area, including the Santa Susana site,” said Ziad Ojakli, executive vice president for government operations at the Boeing Company. (1)

But by refusing to completely remediate the contamination at the Santa Susana Field Lab, Boeing is exposing the local wildlife, as well as the residents who live nearby, to toxic and radioactive contamination. A greenwashing campaign won’t stop that.

Only Boeing’s complete remediation of the site will.

(1): https://www.nwf.org/Latest-News/Press-Releases/2022/02-02-22-CECC-Boeing-WIldlife-Crossing-Donation

Melissa Bumstead is an “accidental activist” for the complete cleanup of the SSFL after her then four-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of Leukemia in 2014. She began the change.org/SantaSusana petition which now has over 750,000 signatures for the cleanup, co-leads the group Parents Against the SSFL, and is part of an award-winning documentary about the cleanup, In the Dark of the Valley.

DTSC Reviews 3 year plan

TONIGHT at 5:30pm

Help us put the heat on the #DTSC and call for Meredith Williams and Grant Cope's resignation. Register here to join: https://bit.ly/2Qyeyvb

Talking Points:

1. Partnership with the community means actual listening and keeping promises. Comments from the community without any real changes to the process is useless and a waste of our time.

2. Environmental Justice means the most comprehensive cleanups to protect human health- but instead the DTSC panders to politicians, polluters and developers. At the SSFL the DTSC is considering NASA's proposal to leave up to 95% of the contamination on site and supports NASA then giving the contaminated land to the local indigenous people.

3. Polluters and DTSC staff should be penalized missing deadlines, falsifying, or approving false reports, or for acting unethically. Without fines serious consequences, "high performing programs and services" is just talk.

4. For DTSC to be a healthy, functioning government agency, Meredith Williams and Grant Cope should resign immediately and there should be consequences for staff who repeatedly fail to meet the mission statement of the DTSC. There must be accountability.

5. Transparent fiscal practices doesn't matter if the whole process isn't transparent. Getting reliable funding sources should include making polluters follow through on their financial obligations.

Truth or Fiction: Destroying Oak Trees

Did you know there has already been some soil remediation at the Santa Susana Field Lab? It was an emergency order (called an iterum measure) to cleanup contamination that posed a direct threat to the community. Really, all of the contamination is a direct threat to our community, but in this case the contamination near Outfalls 8 and 9 was getting into the LA River, so NASA was forced to cleanup a small part of their area by the LA Waterboard.

The exact area to be remediated was also the location of an old-growth oak tree grove.

NASA, Boeing, the Department of Energy and even the DTSC have all said, or at least heavily implied, that the AOC cleanup would devastate the environment at the SSFL beyond repair. But NASA has already remediated an area at the SSFL with old-growth oak trees and didn’t damage them- at all!

That’s why we need to keep pushing for the cleanup and demanding that the responsible parties do a good job of it- they’re capable of it. They have the finances to do it. They’ve legally agreed to do it.

Read more about the way NASA saved the oak trees during the cleanup of two small areas at the Santa Susana Field Lab: http://www.acmela.org/dontfearthecleanup.html

I am sharing this with permission from the ACME LA website author, William Bowling Preston.

Santa Susana Field Lab Documentary

The talented filmmakers Derek Smith, Brandon Smith, Nicholas Mihm made a heart wrenching and beautiful film about the SSFL and the impact it has on the communities surrounding it.

You can watch the new Santa Susana Field Lab documentary at one of the two film festivals:

Cinequest Film Festival (March 22nd - March 30th) https://creatics.org/cinejoy/moviepage/140481…...

Cleveland International Film Festival (April 7th - April 20th) https://clevelandfilm.org/.../in-the-dark-of-the-valley

What the Dept. of Energy going to do would be immoral and illegal.

Updates & News Blog

We're still waiting to hear back from the Dept. of Energy's projector director in charge of the #SantaSusana Field Lab (SSFL) cleanup. In a California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) meeting a few weeks ago they said that 4 of the 8 buildings they plan to demolish at the SSFL would go to a hazardous waste site, instead of a low-level radioactive waste site (and we know that anything labeled "low-level radioactive" can still be incredibly "hot" and contaminated. It's a term meant to confuse the public into believing it's not harmful). This is dangerous, immoral, and it breaks their 2010 AOC cleanup agreements. We haven't heard back, we'll keep you posted. The last thing we want is for the contamination that's been harming our children here to go to an unsuspecting community whose children could get cancer. There's no such thing as other people's kids- we are determined to protect every child from cancer causing radioactive waste from the SSFL.

The consent order: https://dtsc.ca.gov/2020/11/06/news-release_t-20-20/

Low Level waste dumping: https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2020-04-06/nuclear-waste/nrc-proposes-allowing-nuclear-waste-at-dumps-recycling-sites/a69794-1

I was called a racist

I'm being called a racist. It goes much deeper.

You know how they say war veterans, who saw horrific combat, watched their friends die, lived in daily fear, had years of traumatic nightmares, and who felt like they couldn't talk to other people about it, except for other vets? In many ways, that's what it feels like to me, after watching my daughter suffer twice through cancer at age 4 and age 7. She was diagnosed six years ago, but I still fight with PTSD and still struggle to open up to people who haven't been through the hell known as childhood cancer.

I learned about the Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL) five years ago, after meeting many other local families whose kids had cancer while we were all in treatment at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. We realized childhood cancer was too rare for us to live so close to each other. We were right. There's a pediatric cancer cluster in the 10 or so miles surrounding the SSFL. Also an invasive breast cancer cluster. Also a 60% higher cancer incidence rate for people living within 2 miles of the site. Also seemingly above average thyroid disorders, autoimmune diseases, dental issues, severe asthma and developmental issues.

Once I realized the danger was real, I became one of several cancer parents who decided we had to educate the community of the risk and to fight for the cleanup. We couldn't watch another child suffer, or even die, the way our children had from cancer. Not if we could stop it.

And so for five years now, I've dedicated my life to telling my daughter's story, though it rips open my thinly healed emotional scars every time. I've stood up to people who intimidate me, gone into situations that gave me three-day migraines (confrontation isn't my thing) and I try to do whatever I am capable of to try to protect our kids from the contamination at the SSFL.

Other cleanup advocates and myself only recently learned that NASA, one of the SSFL's owners, has been working for years to make the entire SSFL into a historic landmark so they could get out of their cleanup obligations. They took a 12-acre Native American sacred site, located on the SSFL property, and have nominated it to expand into a cultural district which conveniently matches the site's exact 2,850-acre boundary.

Part of the backstory is that once it's a national landmark there's a fee-to-trust provision that could restore the land back to the Santa Ynez band of Chumash. That's not bad in itself. The obvious problem is that NASA hasn't cleaned up the site yet, and will likely never have to if the nomination goes through.

NASA wrote in their 2016 senate proposal was that they planned to expand the 12 acres into the entire 2,850 SSFL area, so they could claim every speck of dirt a cultural artifact, thus activating a "cultural protection clause" in the cleanup agreements that exempt all artifacts from remediation. It's in writing.

The most frustrating part for me is that the Native American elders we've talked with, at least so far, have not believed us- that NASA is using them, and without the cleanup, their families and ours will never be safe.

There is a lobbyist for the Santa Ynez Chumash who has been on a "CAG" group that has been against the cleanup from the start. And he's told every Native American he knows that the cleanup will destroy all of the SSFL artifacts, crumble the mountains into dust, drain the rivers, and kill the wildlife. He's similarly told them that the contamination isn't as dangerous as the scientific reports claim, and that cleanup advocate like me are racists and think that all Native Americans are stupid and we think they're greedy and that I called them all baby-killers.

I immediately called several of my POC friends and asked them to be gut-level truthful with me. Thankfully these are the same friends who have been helping me reach out to the local Native American elders and who have been very involved with the cleanup, as they know that POC communities suffer disproportionately more from contamination that white communities do. (Because polluters like to bury POC communities with their toxic waste because they know they often don't have the resources that many white communities have to fight back). They said I'm not a racist.

I don't like being called a racist, I assume no one does. But that's not what has me heartsick. I have turned myself inside-out to be transparent because I saw that trust was one of the major reasons the cleanup wasn't happening. Our community didn't know if they should trust the cleanup advocates, or the government agencies who said that the SSFL couldn't harm us.

And I've shared my painful experiences publically. I've allowed my wounds to run red, my heart on my sleeve, anything that it took to get the people in power to see how their choices are hurting us, real people who aren't just statistics.

I was enamored with Island of the Blue Dolphins as a kid (FYI, the narrative we were taught as kids about Native Americans living at the Missions is horrifyingly false, it was a form of brutal and heartless slavery). Still, I loved the Native Americans fearless spirit, their sacred communion with the land and animals, their will to live in freedom. As a kid I swore that if such prejudices and injustices remained in my lifetime, I would do something to stop it.

But it hasn't been enough. I am so afraid that Native American families will suffer at NASA's hands, just as our community has. And there's apparently nothing I can do to stop it, except speak against the nomination- which seems to backfire every time.

They don't trust me. And I get it, I'm white and part of the nation that has harmed their people in every way possible, at every turn. But now a US government agency is set to do it again. I feel so helpless watching history history repeat itself.

NASA, Boeing and the Department of Energy (parties also responsible for the cleanup) are literally willing to do anything to get out of the cleanup, even over our dead bodies.

Final note- The photo I shared is of Native American children protesting in Hanford, Washington. The Department of Energy used the land inhabited by their people for plutonium production and then as a plutonium waste facility (aka they dumped hundreds of barrels of plutonium into the ground and covered it with dirt which is insanely dangerous). Also, the spot they picked is horrifyingly close to the Columbia River that is the water source for millions of people.

I'm so afraid that if NASA's scheme is allowed, in a decade or two, it will be California Chumash children photographed protesting the SSFL contamination (ironically, the LA River begins right at the SSFL), having watched their land and families being poisoned by NASA's greed.

I'm almost afraid to ask this, but will you help me speak out against NASA's nomination? I know it might not go well for us, but as a mom with a conscious, who can clearly see what's happening, will you help? Tomorrow is the last day and we only get a 3 minute comment.

If you're willing to step into this hellhole with me in order protect ALL kids who could be affected by the SSFL, you can sign our petition at www.change.org/SantaSusana

We lived in social isolation for 10 months

Petition update from change.org/SantaSusana

MAR 24, 2020 — 

In 2017, after receiving a bone marrow transplant, my eight-year-old daughter Grace and I lived in the isolation ward at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Her immune system had been intentionally destroyed with chemo and radiation so that her body would accept the transplanted cells. Thank God, the procedure was successful and after four months in strict isolation, we were allowed to come home.

That’s when life became truly terrifying for me. Her doctors projected it would take six to nine months for her new immune system to heal. Until then any contact with germs, viruses, mold, mildew or spores could be deadly to her. Except for medical care, Grace and I lived in social isolation. For six months straight. 

I wanted to share what we learned as a family from our experiences while you and your family, and the rest of America, live in partial or complete social isolation during the CoronaVirus-19 crisis. 

Worst Case Scenario
The hospital's child life specialist’s advice seemed so counterintuitive that we ignored it at first. She told us to keep disciplining our kids as if everything was normal. There should be extra compassion and flexibility, she said, but the basic rules need to stay in place. She was right.

Kids can piece together snippets of news, emotions, and changes in their environment. If you let go of the family rules they will conclude that you’ve given up all hope of them growing up into respectful, responsible adults in the future. They’ll give up hope, believing that you’ve given up hope for them to have a future. 

So don’t be tempted to let everything slide. I know you might be just barely holding on, but keep the rules they already know (and don’t be tempted to add new ones). You might need to change how you implement the consequences, but as much as you can, keep the normalcy that rules bring for your kids.

Tell No Lies
Here’s another counterintuitive one, especially if you have young children. Grace was four when she was diagnosed with cancer the first time. The child life specialist told us that she was old enough to know the truth, in an age-appropriate way. 

So we explained cancer to her. We told her before she got procedures. We explained that her hair would fall out, and that allowed us to help her mentally prepare. When we didn’t know what was age-appropriate, we waited for her to ask. Anything she asked we answered honestly.

We were taught that if we “white-lied” to Grace, like saying a shot wouldn’t hurt, then she would be in constant apprehension, not knowing what to expect. She wouldn’t be able to rely on us to help her navigate her crisis. If you don’t tell the truth kids will feel it but they won’t have enough information to come to logical conclusions. They’ll always assume the worst. 

And as Mr. Rogers said, “Anything that's human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary.”

Don’t tread water. 
As a person, and especially as a parent, don’t allow yourself to tread water during a crisis. You need to have enough physical, mental and emotional strength at all times. Especially if the Coronavirus-19 lasts more than a few weeks.

I learned that lesson the hard way, living at the children’s hospital. I thought if I ignored my basic needs it would give me more time to take care of my daughter. First I ignored my body’s gentle reminders like hunger and exhaustion. I ignored my husband and concerned friend’s suggestions. Eventually, my body’s red flags went unnoticed altogether. 

My head was just barely above the crashing waves of crisis. Anytime a new problem came, big or little, it forced me underwater and I was left holding my breath, praying I wouldn’t drown. And that’s a dangerous place for any parent to be. 

You might need to force yourself to eat and sleep. Be honest if you need help. Exercise and relax if you can. Depriving yourself during a crisis won’t solve any problems, but ignoring yourself is guaranteed to make new ones. 

Find your minimum
In a parent's support group at the hospital, we were taught that every parent needs to find their minimum during a crisis. It’s the minimum thing we need every day to feel like there was a moment of caring for ourselves. A moment of small victory. Mine is to eat a piece of good chocolate every night. Another parent said they needed to drink their coffee while it was hot. Another parent needed to have a long, hot shower.  

You might need morning devotional time, or go for a walk, or make your bed, or listen to your favorite song instead of Baby Shark. Only you know your minimum, and it can’t be ignored. It must happen every day. Your minimum guarantees one victory, and in a crisis, you need at least one to keep you going.

Plant a tree. Later. 
There is a time and a place to be Martha Stewart. Right now is neither. I’m a recycling, anti-plastic, organic-food kind of mom. But we’re in a crisis. And this is the right time for paper plates. I still cringe when I use them, but skipping dishes when surviving is smart. You can’t afford a fight with your spouse over the dishes. You can’t afford to run out of energy while sanitizing all surfaces, at the same as potty training the puppy, at the same time you’re not sleeping well, at the same time your daughter hits puberty, while doing the dishes. You can’t afford to burn out. 

You can afford to plant a tree later, or better yet, use bamboo paper plates now (they’re more sustainable). During a crisis, take all the shortcuts you can.  

Leave the spices alone. 
When we were living in isolation at home I would find myself organizing the entire kitchen, right down to the spices. I generally hate all forms of housework, but it was my way of trying to control the only kingdom I could rule. And yes, I suppose my neatly organized kitchen made me happy for about three minutes. Then my three-year-old son would come “help” me. I’d feel even more out of control than before.

We’ve never been in total control of our lives. We know that, but it feels more threatening with the Coronavirus-19 raging around us. In times of crisis, coming to grips with that truth can be a crisis in itself. 

But trying to compensate for the loss of control takes a lot of work to maintain and it never works out well. Aggressive organizing, unrealistic expectations, codependency, or short fuses are some of the gentler outlets of trying to steal back control. Eating addiction, alcohol addiction, or drug addiction, self-harm, and abuse are the more obvious and deadly forms of it. 

When I was able to admit that I wasn’t in total control of my life, I was surprised by the weight that was lifted off my chest. I can do my part, but I can only do my part. That focuses my attention and energy to do what I can do, instead of dwell on the things I can’t.

To remind me of this, I often say the Serenity Prayer, which I learned in Celebrate Recovery.

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardship as a pathway to peace;
taking, as Jesus did,
this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it;
trusting that You will make all things right
if I surrender to Your will;
so that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.

Godbless,

Melissa

Community in Crisis

Petition Update from Change.org/SantaSusana

MAR 17, 2020 — 

I live in a community surrounding the Santa Susana Field Lab, one of America’s worst nuclear disasters. We’ve been dealt health issues, cancer, even death. Yet time and again we’ve become a community of stronger, wiser, kinder people because of the trials we’ve shared.

It’s both beautiful and strange how goodness can manage to survive a crisis when looked for. My daughter’s journey as she fought cancer was the hardest, most painful, and traumatic time of my life. And yet some of the most tender moments of my life happened then. Some of the strongest friendships I now have started then. And most of all, the trivialities of life were purged, and my family and I now focus on what really matters in life, and we are better people for it.

When my daughter relapsed and needed a bone marrow transplant three years later, she was treated in the pediatric isolation ward for two months straight. It was a frightening and lonely time for us.

You were part of the reason we survived. Though you couldn’t fix our situation, your words of encouragement got us through some very hard days. And even though we couldn’t meet face-to-face, your digital friendship broke through the loneliness of isolation. Your prayers and kindness were lighthouses of hope when our life was so dark that we were unable to see tomorrow.

I’d just like to share that encouragement with you, my extended community, as our nation is facing the COVID-19 crisis. We’re together. We matter to each other. And as I pray for each of you and your families to be healthy during this time, even more I pray that we become stronger, wiser, and kinder people because of this trial we’re now sharing.

Godbless.

Melissa Bumstead