State Panel to Review Issue of Navy Radar

Seeking more detailed information on the potential safety hazards of Navy radar, California Coastal Commission officials will hold a hearing next month to review activity at the Port Hueneme Surface Warfare Engineering Facility.

The issue of potentially dangerous radar emissions is at the center of a dispute between the Navy and Oxnard beach area residents. Nearly a year ago, the Navy released part of a study on whether residents are being subjected to hazardous radiation. Navy officials, withholding some portions of the report for security reasons, concluded that residents are not in any danger.

Base officials later released additional portions of the report, but environmentalists living nearby have continued to press for full disclosure. Navy officials say that they have released all the information they can without jeopardizing national security.

But residents and commission officials want the Navy to provide more information. At the request of beach residents, the commission put the issue on its agenda for a Jan. 13 meeting in San Luis Obispo.

In a letter to base officials, state coastal officials said the Navy should answer several questions, including what the worst-case exposure level could be at nearby public recreation spots. Navy officials could not be reached for comment Friday.

Residents near the base continue to wonder if they are safe, beach activist Vickie Finan said.

“I do know that radiation exposure is an accumulation,” Finan said. “I want to know if I have reason to be concerned.”