SIMI VALLEY : Chemical Found in Rockwell Area Water

Rockwell International announced Thursday that traces of a toxic chemical have been found in ground water near its Santa Susana Field Laboratory--the first evidence of contamination off the sprawling research site east of Simi Valley.

Rockwell executives said the tainted water discovered 100 feet northwest of their property poses no hazard to humans or the environment. “It’s a totally undeveloped area, and the water is not used by anyone for drinking,” said Steve Lafflam, director of environmental affairs for Rocketdyne, a division of Rockwell.

However, Dan Hirsch, a member of the community-based Rocketdyne Clean-up Coalition, said the discovery “reinforces concern that the decades of sloppy practices may have impacted the public that work or live nearby.”

Hirsch said that although the water was not used for drinking, it was impossible to know whether it has been used for agriculture.

Samples taken from a well about 400 feet deep showed levels of trichloroethylene, a suspected carcinogen, higher than those allowed by California drinking water standards. Scientists found between seven and 19 p.p.b. of TCE in the ground water, which exceeds the state limit of five p.p.b.

The well, one of six to be bored for the first official monitoring of off-site chemical contamination, is about 400 feet downhill from a heavily contaminated well on the Rockwell property. It is on land owned by the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, which runs a children’s summer camp about a mile from the property line.

Institute officials said Thursday’s announcement caused concern but would not affect their operations. “We’re carefully monitoring the situation,” said Helen Eisenstein, a member of the board of directors.

“We don’t believe this poses any health risk to anyone on our property,” she said. “We aren’t irrigating with it, we aren’t using it for our livestock and we certainly don’t drink it.”