Learn About Potential for Offsite Exposures
from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory
Wednesday, June 18th 6:30 PM
Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center
3050 E. Los Angeles Avenue, Simi Valley, CA 93065
The next SSFL Work Group meeting will include a featured presentation on:
- Potential for Offsite Exposures Associated with the Santa Susana Field Laboratory – Dr. Yoram Cohen, Professor of Chemical Engineering, UCLA Institute for the Environment and Sustainability, Director of the Water Technology Research Center and the Center for Environmental Risk Reduction. Professor Cohen headed a team of researchers from UCLA and other institutions that conducted a multi-year study funded by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry on potential migration of contaminants from SSFL to nearby communities.
Other presentations will include:
- Breakdown of ~200 Incidents of Pollution Limit Exceedances in Surface Water Runoff from SSFL
- Perchlorate in Simi Valley Wells
- Recent Developments About DOE, NASA, and DTSC Cleanup Agreements
- How Much Contamination Would Remain On-Site If the Cleanup Agreements Were Not Followed
We hope you will join us for some straight talk about SSFL.
Revived SSFL Work Group Draws Capacity Crowd to February 5 Meeting
SSFL Work Group draws capacity crowd Feb. 5
The newly revived SSFL Work Group drew a capacity audience in Simi Valley on February 5th in its first meeting in over two years. Presenters included independent experts, community representatives, and agencies responsible for cleaning up the nuclear and chemical contamination at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (Rocketdyne.)
After an information-packed evening, community members expressed a strong desire for more opportunities to be heard and to hold agencies accountable to their clean up commitments. Thank you to everyone who helped make the evening a success and to all who attended. Your energy and enthusiasm have sparked a renewed determination that Rocketdyne will be cleaned up to the letter of the law.
The February 5 relaunch began with a viewing of a 2006 History Channel segment about the 1959 partial nuclear meltdown at the site. Dan Hirsch, President of the nuclear watchdog organization Committee to Bridge the Gap, followed the film with an overview of the SSFL site history which included other nuclear accidents, spills, and toxic releases. Click here to see video of this and other presentations.
Mary Aycock, Remedial Project Manager for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, presented on the EPA’s 2012 Radiological Survey of the site, which found 500 samples of elevated radiation at the site, some hundreds to thousands of times over background. Click here to see the Ms. Aycock’s PowerPoint presentation on the EPA’s findings (14 MB).
Dr. Bob Dodge, a board member of Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles, presented on radiation and health. He drew attention to studies by the UCLA School of Public Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry that found increased rates for certain cancers with proximity to SSFL. Click here to see the studies.
Bonnie Klea, a former SSFL Worker, then addressed the federal Worker Compensation program for workers who became ill while working at SSFL and other Department of Energy (DOE) facilities. Klea said that workers who worked in Area IV at SSFL from 1955-1988 and DOE remediation from 1988 through present, who have suffered one of the 22 covered cancers, are eligible for compensation.