BURBANK : Firm Starts Cleanup at Lockheed Site

The Lockheed Corp. announced it has awarded a two-year, $7-million contract to a Pennsylvania company to demolish some of Lockheed’s former aircraft manufacturing buildings in Burbank and clean up contaminated soil and ground water on the site.

Roy F. Weston Inc., a nationwide environmental services firm based in West Chester, Pa., will clear 76 buildings from 75 acres in and around the Burbank Airport, according to a Lockheed spokesman.

The company will also be required to clean up polluted soil and ground water and to dispose of asbestos and residual chemicals in the buildings. A company spokeswoman said work has already begun.

Lockheed, which began building wooden airframes in 1928 in Burbank and progressed to sophisticated military and commercial jet aircraft over the following decades, owns about 320 acres in the city. In 1989, Lockheed announced that it would move all of its manufacturing operations from Burbank to Palmdale and Marietta, Ga.

The Weston contract represents the beginning of a $60-million to $80-million cleanup that federal officials say is required on Lockheed property in Burbank.

Burbank Airport officials are considering several sites on Lockheed land for a new and larger terminal.