Comment Period on Lab Extended
Responding to a public outcry, the U. S. Department of Energy has extended the comment period on a plan to remove low-level radioactive waste from Rocketdyne’s Santa Susana Field Lab.
Neighborhood concern about the plan was heightened last week by the release of a UCLA study that showed some Rocketdyne workers had a heightened risk of dying from some kinds of cancer.
At public forums about the study, several residents asked for an extension of the public comment period, which was supposed to end Monday. It has been extended until Oct. 15, said energy department spokeswoman Carol Word.
The plan--outlined in a draft environmental assessment--is part of a massive cleanup project taking place at the 2,688-acre field lab south of Simi Valley. If approved, it would allow Rocketdyne to transport low-level radioactive waste by truck to disposal sites in either Clive, Utah, or Barnwell, S. C.
The waste includes soiled gloves, rags and clothing from the cleanup effort, Word said. Some waste is already being shipped to federally run disposal sites, but the current plan asks for permission to ship waste to two commercial facilities.
Copies of the draft environmental assessment on the plan are available at the Simi Valley Public Library, 2969 Tapo Canyon Road.
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