Frustrated with the pace of the long-promised cleanup of radioactive material from the Santa Susana Field Lab, a coalition of activists will be protesting starting today to demand an urgent cleanup of a nuclear waste site near Simi Valley.
The activists are marking the 65th anniversary of a partial nuclear reactor meltdown at the Santa Susana Field Lab in July 1959, which released radioactive material and other toxic chemicals into the soil and surrounding areas. At the time, the Atomic Energy Commission issued a statement claiming that there was "no release of radioactive materials" into the surrounding area, which was later shown to be false.
Even after the meltdown, the 2850-acre site was still used for nuclear development and testing until 1988, according to the Department of Energy. The site was also used for rocket tests conducted by NASA and its contractor Rocketdyne. Ownership of the majority of the site was transferred to Boeing in 1996, though the U.S. government owns the remaining portions.
Activists and environmental groups allege that since Boeing became stewards of the site — and the hazardous chemicals within — the company has been slow to mitigate risks for surrounding residents.
"They are trying to get out of the full, complete cleanup," said Melissa Bumstead, founder and co-director of the group Parents Against Santa Susana Field Lab. "They want to cut corners. And they're minimizing the risk to the public."
For their part, Boeing said the company is following a cleanup procedure laid out by the California Environmental Protection Agency two years ago "to implement a stringent cleanup of the site."
"The cleanup framework provides Boeing with a clear process, schedule, and criteria for future decision-making, while protecting important biological and cultural resources," a Boeing spokesperson wrote in an email to LAist. "Interim soil and groundwater measures are ongoing and the final soil and groundwater cleanup are slated to start as soon as 2026."
Studies conducted over the years have not always been able to demonstrate a significant increase in rates of cancer near the former test site, though many others have.
"Taken together, the studies do not support a link between incidences of cancer and past operations at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory," Boeing wrote to LAist.
Bumstead and her fellow advocates refute this, pointing to several studies that found higher rates of certain types of cancer for people working and living close to the site. For Bumstead, the issue is personal.
"My daughter is 14 now, but she's a two-time cancer survivor, and she's one of 80 kids in our community who've had cancer that we know of," Bumstead said.
The spread of radiation from the site also became a flashpoint for surrounding areas following the Woolsey Fire in 2018, which burned through parts of the SSFL site.
At the time, California's Department of Toxic Substances Control said that they did not believe any toxic chemicals had been released into surrounding areas. However, a study published in 2021 found that while most samples taken nearby did not have elevated radiation levels, radioactive matter did spread outside of the site.
The highest levels of radiation in the study were detected in Thousand Oaks, about 9 miles from the site of Santa Susana Field Lab.
Boeing entered into mediation with the state in 2021, according to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. In 2022, the parties announced a cleanup agreement to "hold Boeing accountable" after 15 months of negotiations. The state set stringent standards for the cleanup, saying that it should be sufficiently free from waste for residents to live on the site and grow their own produce from the formerly contaminated soil.
That full cleanup is expected to take 10 to 15 years, though state officials said they're looking at ways to expedite the process.
Bumstead and other advocates say that the sooner the site is rid of nuclear waste and other hazardous materials, the better.
"One of the long term problems, one of the reasons why this has taken 65 years, is it's easy to kick the can down the road forever," Bumstead said.
