No Radiation Outside of Hot Lab, Data Shows
State test data shows no evidence that radioactivity from Rockwell International’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory has spread off the site, a state health official said Tuesday.
Limited testing of air, water, soil and vegetation within 10 miles of the test complex in the Simi Hills has indicated only naturally occurring levels of radioactivity, Bill Watson, a health physicist with the state Department of Health Services, told a task force overseeing cleanup work at Santa Susana.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. March 24, 1990 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday March 24, 1990 Valley Edition Metro Part B Page 4 Column 2 Zones Desk 2 inches; 54 words Type of Material: Correction
Rockwell contamination--A headline Wednesday incorrectly said test data showed no evidence of radioactive contamination outside the “hot lab” at Rockwell International’s Santa Susana facility west of Chatsworth. In fact, as the story said, the testing was done outside the entire Santa Susana site. There is radioactive contamination on the site, including near the “hot lab.”
“I find no data that indicates there has been an off-site release, but I’m going to continue” the test work, Watson said.
About three dozen samples of air, water, soil and vegetation have been taken since last June at sites adjacent to Santa Susana and as far as 10 miles away. None showed the presence of man-made radioactive materials, Watson told the meeting at Simi Valley City Hall, attended by about 45 citizens and officials.
Watson said air samples were taken as far away as a Simi Valley fire station and Calabasas High School, about five miles and 10 miles from Santa Susana, respectively. Other sampling sites included Bell Canyon and the Sage Ranch on the northern boundary of the field lab. Sage Ranch samples included commercially grown avocados and oranges, Watson said.
The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, a state parks agency, is trying to buy the Sage Ranch for use as a public park, but plans to conduct additional soil and air tests first. Conservancy official Sonia Thompson said a consulting firm is being hired to do the soil analyses. The air tests will be done by the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District.
At the nearly daylong task force meeting, Jim Hartman of the U.S. Department of Energy said the DOE and the state may reach an agreement on environmental monitoring by May. Under the agreement, the state would receive federal funds to expand monitoring of DOE weapons and research sites in California, including Santa Susana. Energy Secretary James Watkins has proposed such agreements with states that have DOE installations, in response to attacks on the agency’s credibility.
The Santa Susana lab, a 2,668- acre complex run by Rockwell’s Rocketdyne division, is devoted mainly to rocket testing for NASA and the Air Force. But a 290-acre portion has been used for more than 30 years for nuclear work in support of government programs.
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