Tests Near Rocketdyne Sought

Ventura County supervisors will consider requiring proposed development projects within a two-mile radius of the Rocketdyne Santa Susana Field Laboratory to conduct soil and water contamination tests for chemicals harmful to humans.

The development guidelines, sponsored by Supervisor Linda Parks, would require testing for perchlorate and trichloroethylene -- two of the most common sources of contamination at the hilltop site above Simi Valley and the San Fernando Valley -- and other chemicals.

The proposal is scheduled to be considered May 4 by the Board of Supervisors.

It would require developers to pay the cost of testing, which could range from $250 to $3,000, and to take the necessary steps to ensure public safety and to help avoid potential liability issues.

“If the initial study determines toxins are present ... a plan of action to reduce potential exposure to humans would be part of the mitigation,” Parks wrote in a report to the board outlining her proposed guidelines. The supervisor could not be reached for comment Monday.

Those measures could include laying a deeper concrete pad, reducing the amount of grading, moving elements of the development to reduce human exposure, identifying alternate water sources and removing the contaminated soil.