Studies
Federally funded research, independent studies, and CalEPA data show that the dangerous contamination at the Santa Susana Field Lab migrates offsite — putting the environment, wildlife, groundwater sources, and people at risk of harm.
These studies were conducted independently of Boeing, NASA, and the Department of Energy by scientists with strong reputations for excellence, using transparent and peer-reviewed methods, and best-available technology.
Pollution Offsite Studies
FAIREWINDS ENERGY EDUCATION, 2021: Radioactive Microparticles related to the Woolsey Fire in Simi Valley found radioactive contamination in soil and ash samples to the limits of the study; nine miles away.
ALI TABIDIAN, PH.D. 2006: Migration of SSFL Perchlorate Contamination Offsite
VENTURA COUNTY SUPERVISOR LINDA PARKS, 2004: Two Mile Testing Requirement proposed to require developments located within a 2-mile radius of a present or former rocket test site to perform soil and water tests for perchlorate and trichloroethylene (TCE), among other contaminants and substances.
Ventura County Air Pollution Control District, 1993-1994: VCAPCD Permit Emissions Data shows the chemicals Rocketdyne was allowed to burn up at the lab and how much.
HOWARD WILSHIRE, PH.D. 2006: Geologic Features and their Potential Effects on Contaminant Migration, Santa Susana Field Laboratory
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY, 2014: Potential for Offsite Exposures Presentation Shows areas surrounding the lab that are at high-risk area from SSFL contamination.
UCLA, 2006: Potential for Offsite Exposures Associated with Santa Susana Field Laboratory studied the potential exposure pathways and investigated how contaminants might migrate from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory to nearby communities.
Centex (Sterling Homes) Report finds perchlorate as much as 62,000 mg/kg (ppm) which is 62M times above the California Health Goal.
Ventura County Star: Boeing faces $600,000 penalty over runoff at Santa Susana Field Lab
2010 DTSC: Memo Regarding TCE
SSFL Contamination Studies
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, 2012: EPA Radiological Survey, EPA Radiological Background Study and accompanying statistical appendix found 291 soil samples with Cesium-137 contamination at levels up to 1,000 times background, 153 samples had strontium-90 at levels up to 284 times background.
DAVID A. LOCHBAUM 2006: An Assessment of Potential Pathways for Release of Gaseous Radioactivity Following Fuel Damage During Run 14 at the Sodium Reactor Experiment.
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, 2007: Preliminary Assessment – Site Inspection Report is an excellent primer on the pollution problems of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. “Multiple operations at the SSFL over the last six decades have resulted in the contamination of surface and subsurface environmental media by various hazardous substances,” the report notes.
US EPA Video Presentation on the Radiological Survey of the Santa Susana Field Lab
SSFL ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY’S N. S. FUKIKAWA, 1981: SSFL Historical Volume – Area 1 Burn Pit, a 65-page report, among other things, shows exactly where this burn pit was: right next to a drainage channel that leads eventually to the Los Angeles River.
SSFL Health Studies
BOEING CORPORATION 2015: Draft RCRA Facility Investigation Data Summary found that 96 out of 100 people would get cancer if they lived on parts of Boeing’s property and ate the produce they grew at the SSFL.
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, 2007: An independent, federally funded study found a 60% Higher Cancer Incidence in the Community Surrounding the Rocketdyne Facility in Southern California. It was misconstrued by Boeing, as part of its lawsuit against California, forcing author Dr. Hal Morgenstern to write a letter to Senator Simitian.
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH TRACKING PROGRAM, 2012: California Breast Cancer Mapping Project determined East Ventura County/West San Fernando Valley had a 10-20% higher invasive breast cancer rate.
Working with a statistician, Parents Against Santa Susana Field Lab’s self-reported, imputed data shows a pediatric cancer rate above the national average for several rare pediatric cancers.
UCLA, 1999: Rocketdyne Chemical Study found that Rocketdyne workers who had high hydrazine exposures were about twice as likely as other Rocketdyne employees who worked at the site to die from lung and other cancers.
UCLA 2007: Rocketdyne Workers Radiation Study studied 4,563 Rocketdyne workers. “All available evidence from this study indicates that occupational exposure to ionizing radiation among nuclear workers at Rocketdyne/AI has increased the risk of dying from cancers,” wrote Dr. Hal Morganstern, director of the UCLA study. “We found the effect of radiation exposure was six to eight times greater in our study than extrapolated from the results of the A-bomb survivors study.”