Full Speed Ahead on Cleanup

Unanimous agreement is not the natural order of things where Rocketdyne’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory is concerned. But nearly everyone concurs on one point:

Cleaning up lingering contamination from decades of rocket-engine testing and Cold War-era nuclear research should proceed as swiftly and completely as possible.

That’s why two congressmen and an array of area residents are closing ranks to fight proposed Bush administration budget cuts that could slow the federal part of the cleanup by at least two years.

The cleanup of contaminated water, soil and buildings on the Department of Energy’s portion of the Boeing Co.’s Rocketdyne site in the rugged hills between Simi Valley and Chatsworth is a $250-million effort that began a decade ago. The work is scheduled to be completed by 2007.

Funding had been set at $17 million a year. But Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham wants to reduce next year’s spending by $3.7 million--part of $467 million in cuts proposed nationally at similar sites.

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), whose constituents include neighbors of the 2,800-acre facility, says he will fight aggressively to restore full funding for the cleanup.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Woodland Hills) told The Times that he too would push to restore funding for the cleanup at Santa Susana and other facilities throughout the state.

Environmentalists, anti-nuclear activists and dozens of homeowners near the facility are concerned about both the timeline and the completeness of the cleanup. Many of them plan to attend a meeting Wednesday in Simi Valley, at which local, state and federal officials are to present an update on work at the site.

The Santa Susana lab was an important cornerstone of America’s race into space. Rocketdyne designed and tested early rocket engines for nuclear missiles there and went on to produce rocket engines for the nation’s space program.

Between the 1950s and 1980s, the company conducted nuclear research under contract for the Department of Energy and the Atomic Energy Commission. In 1956, Rocketdyne began operating a series of test reactors at the site. The research continued through a number of spills and accidents--including a partial fuel meltdown in 1959--until 1989. It now focuses on designing and testing new rocket engines.

After decades of acrimony, suspicion and fear, the only thing that will truly resolve neighbors’ concerns over Rocketdyne contamination is for the cleanup to be completed as quickly and completely as possible. We share the concern of Congressmen Gallegly and Sherman and urge the Bush administration to do its part to keep this work moving full speed ahead.