Concerning the editorial, “On SSFL, stop moving the goalpost and get the job done,” published on April 4, there are several statements I’d like to correct.
The editorial stated, “Boeing . . . is allowed to clean up the soil on its portion of the site to the less stringent recreational level, but NASA . . . is being held to the higher background standard.”
This is incorrect.
In 2010, NASA and the Department of Energy agreed to a legally binding AOC agreement, which mandated the background standard, or the remediation of 100% of the contamination. The Department of Toxic Substances Control recently stated that they are committed to the AOC standards.
Boeing sued to get out of the AOC but is still required by California environmental laws to clean up their portion of the site to local zoning, which is agricultural and would be almost as stringent as the background standard.
The recreational standard that Boeing, the Department of Energy and NASA are pushing for would leave up to 98% of the contamination on site, permanently. And yes, a 2% cleanup would be finished sooner, but it would be deadly.
The SSFL has a horrific list of chemical and radioactive waste there, worst being plutonium 239, which has a half-life of 24,000 years and has a 100% lung cancer incidence rate if 1 millionth of an ounce is inhaled.
Leaving 98% of the contamination is recklessly dangerous, especially when you consider how far the Woolsey fire, which began on Boeing’s portion of the SSFL, blew ash and smoke. Leaving contamination would keep our families at risk of exposure to carcinogenic waste every time there is wind, rain, or a fire on the site.
There are many committed to defending the AOC cleanup agreements, including Los Angeles County; Ventura County; Congressmembers Brownley, Hill and Sherman, and state Sen. Stern; and with community groups and advocates including Parents vs. SSFL, Committee to Bridge the Gap, Physicians for Social Responsibility-LA, Natural Resources Defense Council, Southern California Federation of Scientists, CORE Advocacy for Nuclear and Aerospace Workers, LA Audubon Society, and over 620,000 people who’ve signed my change.org/santasusana petition. And me.
Melissa Bumstead
West Hills