Rocketdyne to Close Its Nuclear ‘Hot Lab’

Breaking a two-month silence on the sensitive issue of future nuclear work at their Santa Susana Field Laboratory, top officials of Rockwell International’s Rocketdyne division said next year’s planned closure of the “hot lab” spells the end of the nuclear era at the test site west of Chatsworth.

Rocketdyne President Bob Paster said the firm will need about six months to complete an experiment on nuclear waste separation before decommissioning the facility.”Once we’ve done that, that type of activity is done and behind us,” he said.

Neighborhood and environmental groups have pressed Rockwell to shut down the nuclear side of its business at the site and expedite the cleanup of chemical and radioactive contamination. Rockwell’s request last summer to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a 10-year renewal of the hot lab’s special nuclear materials license also brought a chorus of protest.