Old nuclear lab is closer to making Superfund list

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined that a former nuclear and rocket engine testing facility at Boeing’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory near Simi Valley should be added to the national Superfund cleanup list.

In a letter sent last week to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the EPA’s San Francisco office recapped the history of chemical and radioactive contamination at the 2,850-acre hilltop lab that first began operations as a nuclear research facility in 1948. Later, it also became a rocket engine testing facility.

According to the EPA, soil and water poisoned with trichloroethylene, estimated at more than 500,000 gallons, forced the closure of on-site drinking wells in 1980. And 32 years of nuclear testing at the lab produced radioactive pollutants that have tainted water at the location and could affect “municipal drinking water supplies in the future.”

The federal agency has reviewed the field lab in the past, but previously looked only at radiological contaminants and then concentrated on just a portion of the lab site.

“When we look at the site as a whole, we feel that it would qualify for the National Priorities List,” said Mike Montgomery, regional chief of the Superfund program. The new designation would mean more funding for ongoing cleanup and would shift oversight from the state to the federal government.

The EPA has asked the governor’s office to respond in writing within 30 days. If Schwarzenegger agrees with the recommendation, the EPA’s regional office would forward its request to its Washington, D.C., headquarters for final approval.

“This is a great development. We’ve been praying for this for 20 years,” said Daniel Hirsch, president of the nuclear policy watchdog group Committee to Bridge the Gap. “We now pray that the governor does not block it at the last minute.”

Boeing spokeswoman Blythe Jameson said the company, which is primarily responsible for cleaning the field lab it purchased from Rockwell International in the summer of 1996, does not expect any drastic changes if final oversight is transferred from the state Department of Toxic Substances Control to the federal government.

In September, Boeing pledged that it would clean up its portion of the land, 2,400 acres, to “acceptable community” standards and turn it over to the state. NASA owns the remaining portion of the lab site.

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greg.griggs@latimes.com