Cleanup Continues at Rocketdyne Lab
State health officials are planning to excavate and remove 3,200 cubic yards of contaminated soil at Rocketdyne’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory as part of the ongoing cleanup at the rocket-testing complex.
The target for this phase of cleanup is a former disposal site where assorted industrial chemicals were used to clean metallic sodium from metal debris. Chemicals remaining in the soil include dioxins, PCBs and mercury. Those substances can cause cancer, nervous system disorders and brain and kidney damage in people who are exposed to excessive amounts.
The public is invited to comment on the cleanup plan at a hearing sponsored by the California Environmental Protection Agency beginning at 6:30 tonight at the Radisson Hotel, 959 Enchanted Way, Simi Valley. For more information, call (818) 551-2909.
The Santa Susana lab was established after World War II as a site to test engines for missiles, rockets and spacecraft. More recently, it has been used to develop lasers and test nuclear reactors, an activity discontinued in 1989.
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