NASA will dismantle two test sites in the toxic Santa Susana Field Lab area – Daily News

NASA said it will advance plans to demolish the Bravo and Coca vertical test rigs at Santa Susana Field Lab, which were contaminated when the area was used for decades for rocket engine testing and other activities.

The Alpha, Bravo, Coca and Delta test rigs built in the 1950s were home to missile tests for NASA’s space shuttle program and for US Air Force missiles. Later, the sites would play an important role in the boost of the Apollo program that brought the first American astronauts to the moon.

However, these activities contaminated the area with radioactive and chemical toxins, affecting the surrounding communities. For decades, activists have been calling for the cleansing of the vast area hidden in the hills between the San Fernando and Simi valleys.

Pre-demolition work begins this month when crews conduct biological surveys to ensure the demolition does not harm the health and safety of workers, the public, and nearby cultural and biological resources, according to NASA.

The grounds are surrounded by the communities of Chatsworth, Thousands Oaks, Canoga Park, West Hills, and Simi Valley, which are home to nearly 400,000 people. After years of negotiations and agreements, a full clean-up of the area has still not begun.

The demolition of the Bravo test stands and the control house should be completed by the end of 2022. After that, NASA will continue leveling the Coca test site and complete that phase by 2023. A schedule for the demolition of the remaining stand, Delta, has not yet been announced.

Peter Zorba, NASA SSFL project leader, said in a statement that “Completing the demolition will allow us to begin the cleanup once the DTSC completes its regulatory process.”

Proponents of the website cleanup were cautious. Critics complain that NASA had already agreed in a binding agreement with the state in 2010 to clean the floor according to the strictest standards, and that the demolition of the test benches is not compatible.

West Hills-based and senior activist Melissa Bumstead wondered if “NASA is testing the DTSC to see if they can quietly abandon their legal AOC cleanup agreements and apply their version of a standard for suburban cleaning, even though it was 95 The Santa Susana Field Lab would leave% of the contamination permanently. “

Bumstead believes her 11-year-old daughter, a two-time cancer survivor, fell ill due to the release of radiation from the site.

She added that unless the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, which oversees the cleanup, does not stop these efforts by NASA, “we will continue to be at risk of cancer-causing chemicals every rainy or windy day.”

NASA facilities weren’t the only ones contributing to the contamination of the Santa Susana Field laboratory over the decades. The schedule for cleaning up other areas remains unclear.

The 2,850-acre area, which first appeared on the map in the 1940s, was once a state-of-the-art collection of manufacturing facilities, test sites, and chemical laboratories. It was home to rocket engine testing, experimental liquid metal development, and nuclear energy research by scientists from the private sector and government from companies like Boeing, the US Department of Energy, and NASA.

The partial meltdown of a small experimental nuclear reactor in 1959, which had nothing to do with the dismantling of NASA sites, left the area with radioactive and chemical pollution, experts say.

After decades of activism and negotiation, the government agreed to clean up the site in 2010, but efforts have since fallen short of the promised goals and deadlines.

People from environmental activists and local residents to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Sen. Henry Stern and members of Congress to reality TV star Kim Kardashian West, who lives in the nearby Hidden Hills, have called for action on the cleanup.

Over the years, experts have conducted studies of those who previously worked in the field laboratory, along with studies of thyroid cancer rates in residents who live near the property.

In 2005, Boeing reached an agreement with more than 100 neighbors of the lab who said they had cancer and other diseases at the rocket engine factory. Boeing denies there is a link between the contamination and disease among local residents. Some have claimed the area contributed to disease in the area, but the Los Angeles County Department of Health has said there is still no evidence to support that claim.

Over the years, around 1,500 applications have been made from employees diagnosed with cancer who worked on-site with the Department of Labor. More than $ 58 million has been paid out.

Meanwhile, NASA officials said they had taken steps to keep some of the wildlife living in the area away from the demolition effort. Three boxes were set up as new nesting places for barn owls that have settled in or around the Bravo stands.

Biologists hope the owls, known for their white, heart-shaped faces, will move to the new boxes soon.

Verticle Test Stand (VTS-1) in 1954 at the Santa Susana Field Lab. (Photo of the daily news file)

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