Rocketdyne Cleanup Needs Close Watch

While I am grateful that your reporter Mack Reed felt the worthiness of doing a Nov. 10 article on the Rocketdyne Cleanup Coalition, I feel that some clarification is needed.

First, I feel that a stronger correlation must be made between what our detractors call our highly critical stance and the fact that even during the cleanup process Rocketdyne has incurred hefty fines for violations regarding contamination. Therefore, we feel that to be vigilant to assure an honest, efficient cleanup, we are most justified in constantly voicing criticisms. I am appalled that Rocketdyne plays the part of the poor, put-upon corporation when it is aware of all its past violations.

What Rocketdyne has already done may have compromised our health, and now to compromise our lives by not doing the cleanup properly is intolerable. It must be understood that the Rocketdyne Cleanup Coalition was formed in 1989, and since that time our members have expended untold hours and excessive energy in trying to assure what we, as citizens, should be entitled to--a cleaned-up environment.

We have attended countless meetings, without compensation, where we were lied to and deceived, where oversight agencies revealed that they were not doing the job we thought they were, and where we must reiterate many past facts and decisions as the agency staffs have been replaced several times. Your readers should know our frustrations to better understand our criticisms.

Also, it was implied in the article that we moved into an unestablished neighborhood after Rocketdyne was already there. This is not true. Susana Knolls was an established community long before Rocketdyne. When the four members of the coalition moved in in the ‘70s, we came into an established community unaware of the deadly potential on the hill at the Santa Susana Field Lab.

I would also like to make clear that my involvement, along with Dawn Kowalski’s, was to help right a wrong and was not due to the fact that we had cancer. In fact, we both contracted breast cancer while already deeply involved with the coalition.

It is quite important to our group that the community be kept aware of the cleanup process, so we are therefore very grateful when reporters such as Mack Reed take the interest and time to bring the public up to date.

BARBARA JOHNSON

Public member of EPA Oversight Work Group

Founding member of Rocketdyne Cleanup Coalition

Susana Knolls