Deal to clean up LA-area nuclear accident site

AP via Google ^ | Friday, September 3, 2010 | Noaki Schwartz

[canuck_conservative]

State and federal officials announced Friday a potentially historic agreement to remove all radioactive contamination from a partial nuclear meltdown in 1959 at a rocket testing site just outside Los Angeles.

Residents who have fought for years for the cleanup heralded the agreement signed by the Department of Energy, NASA and state officials. The agreement must still go through a public review process.

The decades-old site is known as the Santa Susana Field Laboratory and is now largely owned by Boeing Co.

Boeing said in a statement that it had only just learned of the agreement and was reviewing it.

Proponents of the deal said it would require a high-level cleanup in the most polluted parts of the site.

"It's more than we'd hoped for a long time," said Marie Mason, the head of a four-member homeowner's association who are all sick with leukemia, breast cancer or serious thyroid conditions. "We are thrilled."

During the Cold War, the Atomic Energy Commission used what was then Rocketdyne's 2,850-acre Santa Susana site in hill country west of the San Fernando Valley to test rockets and experimental nuclear reactors. One of the reactors, which had no containment dome to prevent radiation from leaking into the environment, experienced a partial meltdown in 1959.

There were other problems over the years, including two more accidents, burn pits with radioactive contaminants and a rocket fuel explosion that killed two scientists and resulted in a $650 million fine after Rocketdyne illegally disposed of the hazardous waste. Cleaning solvent used to wash down test stands tainted some groundwater.....

[Rca2000]

Was this the “BOMARC” accident with the W-45 warhead that the core partially melted and dispersed?

[umgud]

The company I work for has had crews at this site for the last 10 years doing environmental cleanup and decommissioning, including some rad work.

This is a location that will be in some form of cleanup for many more decades.

[Rodamala]

I keyed up on the words "Santa Susana" because up the hill from my brother's backyard in Chatsworth was the Southern Pacific RR's Santa Susana Pass tunnels. The Field Lab is not far away at all from where he lived... like 5 miles it looks like.

I just found some amazing reading online about the Santa Susana pass... it's not related to the article... but definately worth reading: Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park Cultural Resources Inventory Historic Overview

[Rodamala]

I keyed up on the words "Santa Susana" because up the hill from my brother's backyard in Chatsworth was the Southern Pacific RR's Santa Susana Pass tunnels. The Field Lab is not far away at all from where he lived... like 5 miles it looks like.

I just found some amazing reading online about the Santa Susana pass... it's not related to the article... but definately worth reading: Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park Cultural Resources Inventory Historic Overview

[Rodamala]

I keyed up on the words "Santa Susana" because up the hill from my brother's backyard in Chatsworth was the Southern Pacific RR's Santa Susana Pass tunnels. The Field Lab is not far away at all from where he lived... like 5 miles it looks like.

I just found some amazing reading online about the Santa Susana pass... it's not related to the article... but definately worth reading: Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park Cultural Resources Inventory Historic Overview

[Steely Tom]

Was this the “BOMARC” accident with the W-45 warhead that the core partially melted and dispersed?

I believe that was in NJ, at MacGuire AFB.

[markman46]

I remember the rocket motor testing in the 60’s use to light up the mountain side at night. never knew about the nuc reactor

[ZGuy]

I go through that tunnel to work every day. Thanks for the heads up on the article!

[Rodamala]

Sorry for the triple post... FR was screwy on Friday and was giving me 502 errors every time I tried to respond to the thread.