Studies

health studies

96 out of 100 people would get cancer

BOEING CORPORATION 2015: Draft RCRA Facility Investigation Data Summary found that 96 out of 100 people would get cancer if they lived on parts of Boeing’s property and ate the produce they grew at the SSFL.

60% higher cancer incidence rates

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, 2007: An independent, federally funded study found a 60% Higher Cancer Incidence in the Community Surrounding the Rocketdyne Facility in Southern California. It was misconstrued by Boeing, as part of its lawsuit against California, forcing author Dr. Hal Morgenstern to write a letter to Senator Simitian.

10-20% higher breast cancer rates

CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH TRACKING PROGRAM, 2012: California Breast Cancer Mapping Project determined East Ventura County/West San Fernando Valley had a 10-20% higher invasive breast cancer rate.

SITE WORKERS HARMED BY CHEMICALS

UCLA, 1999: Rocketdyne Chemical Study found that Rocketdyne workers who had high hydrazine exposures were about twice as likely as other Rocketdyne employees who worked at the site to die from lung and other cancers.

PASSFL

Working with a statistician, Parents Against Santa Susana Field Lab’s self-reported, imputed data shows a pediatric cancer rate above the national average for several rare pediatric cancers.

Offsite studies

Radionuclides spread in wildfire

FAIREWINDS ENERGY EDUCATION, 2021: Radioactive Microparticles related to the Woolsey Fire in Simi Valley found radioactive contamination in soil and ash samples to the limits of the study; nine miles away.

DANGEROUS CHEMICALS FLOW OFFSITE

ALI TABIDIAN, PH.D. 2006: Migration of SSFL Perchlorate Contamination Offsite

two mile development requirements

VENTURA COUNTY SUPERVISOR LINDA PARKS, 2004: Two Mile Testing Requirement proposed to require developments located within a 2-mile radius of a present or former rocket test site to perform soil and water tests for perchlorate and trichloroethylene (TCE), among other contaminants and substances.

Communities AT HIGH-Risk

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY, 2014: Potential for Offsite Exposures Presentation Shows areas surrounding the lab that are at high-risk area from SSFL contamination.

Potential migration pathways

UCLA, 2006: Potential for Offsite Exposures Associated with Santa Susana Field Laboratory studied the potential exposure pathways and investigated how contaminants might migrate from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory to nearby communities.

water

TCE found in groundwater

2010 DTSC: Memo Regarding TCE

Radioactive water presentation

COMMITTEE TO BRIDGE THE GAP, 2006: Radioactive Contamination of Water at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory zeroes in on radioactive tritium, or “heavy water,” which moves through water faster than any other radionuclide and can’t be filtered out.

Geological

migration through geological features

HOWARD WILSHIRE, PH.D. 2006: Geologic Features and their Potential Effects on Contaminant Migration, Santa Susana Field Laboratory

Radioactive water presentation

COMMITTEE TO BRIDGE THE GAP, 2006: Radioactive Contamination of Water at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory zeroes in on radioactive tritium, or “heavy water,” which moves through water faster than any other radionuclide and can’t be filtered out.

contamination

EPA Finds Radioactive Contamination

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, 2012: EPA Radiological Survey, EPA Radiological Background Study and accompanying statistical appendix found 291 soil samples with Cesium-137 contamination at levels up to 1,000 times background, 153 samples had strontium-90 at levels up to 284 times background.

air quality data from burn pit

VENTURA COUNTY AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT, 1993-1994: VCAPCD Permit Emissions Data shows the chemicals Rocketdyne was allowed to burn up at the lab and how much.

EPA finds chemical and radionuclides

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, 2007: Preliminary Assessment – Site Inspection Report is an excellent primer on the pollution problems of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. “Multiple operations at the SSFL over the last six decades have resulted in the contamination of surface and subsurface environmental media by various hazardous substances,” the report notes.

Burn pit lists contamination

SSFL ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY’S N. S. FUKIKAWA, 1981: SSFL Historical Volume – Area 1 Burn Pit, a 65-page report, among other things, shows exactly where this burn pit was: right next to a drainage channel that leads eventually to the Los Angeles River.

Please note: PASSFL intentionally chose to include only studies conducted independently of Boeing, NASA, or the Department of Energy’s influence. The studies included on this page were done by scientists with high ethical standards and reputations for excellence in their relative fields and were created with transparent practices and best-technology methodologies.