SEAL BEACH : Tonight’s Hearing to Discuss Toxic Waste

Residents are invited to attend a public hearing tonight that will deal with hazardous waste contamination at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station.

Navy officials will be on hand to answer questions about their investigation into waste contamination at several sites on the 5,000-acre facility.

The Navy has yet to begin major cleanup activities at the 49-year-old base, which once also included space agency and Department of Energy facilities.

Officials expect the cleanup will cost millions of dollars and might not be completed until 2005.

Earlier this year, the Navy began contacting employees who worked at the base in the 1960s and 1970s in an effort to determine what toxic materials were used and where they might be buried.

Officials fear that buried hazardous material could pollute the ground water and the nearby Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge.

The Navy is required by state and federal laws to clean up toxic waste sites. It is believed that several large landfills exist on the base which include such dangerous substances as lead, mercury and solvents.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Seal Beach Council Chambers, 211 8th St.