Boeing's SoCal Demolition Could Release Radioactive Dust
The Issue
The Boeing Company owns most of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), one of California’s most toxic and radioactive sites, located in the hills above Los Angeles. Over 700,000 people live within ten miles of the site. The site has polluted the local water, air, and soil for decades and has been linked to higher rates of cancer and autoimmune disease in the local communities.
Boeing is preparing to demolish five buildings formerly used for nuclear research at the SSFL, including a plutonium fuel facility, which experienced three radioactive accidents. Because of Boeing's 2023 lawsuit victory, they will demolish the buildings as non-radiological “abandoned warehouses,” based on problematic studies done in the 1980s that used now-obsolete regulations and questionable practices.
Despite this, the buildings still showed signs of being radioactive, including the plutonium fuel facility that had 88 "above background" detections. Plutonium-239 can cause cancer if trace amounts are inhaled , has a 24,000 year half-life, and is reputed as one of the most dangerous materials on earth.
The lawsuit ruling will allow Boeing to use less protective dust mitigation measures and to send thousands of tons of potentially low-level radioactive waste to recycling centers and less protective (and less expensive) California landfills. Boeing's actions will put workers, residents, the environment, and future generations at risk of cancer.
“Boeing should prove to us that plutonium-239 won’t get into our water or air during the demolition and disposal," says Melissa Bumstead, Parents Against SSFL founder and Co-Director, and whose daughter is a two-time cancer survivor. "Just because what Boeing is doing is legal doesn’t mean it’s safe.”
Sign our petition if you agree that Boeing must prove that the buildings are not still radioactive , or, use the safest demolition and disposal practices possible.*
P.S. to sign the petition for the compete, site-wide cleanup, go to www.change.org/SantaSusana
*More detailed information and best practices are available on our website: www.parentsagainstssfl.com/radioactive
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The Issue
The Boeing Company owns most of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), one of California’s most toxic and radioactive sites, located in the hills above Los Angeles. Over 700,000 people live within ten miles of the site. The site has polluted the local water, air, and soil for decades and has been linked to higher rates of cancer and autoimmune disease in the local communities.
Boeing is preparing to demolish five buildings formerly used for nuclear research at the SSFL, including a plutonium fuel facility, which experienced three radioactive accidents. Because of Boeing's 2023 lawsuit victory, they will demolish the buildings as non-radiological “abandoned warehouses,” based on problematic studies done in the 1980s that used now-obsolete regulations and questionable practices.
Despite this, the buildings still showed signs of being radioactive, including the plutonium fuel facility that had 88 "above background" detections. Plutonium-239 can cause cancer if trace amounts are inhaled , has a 24,000 year half-life, and is reputed as one of the most dangerous materials on earth.
The lawsuit ruling will allow Boeing to use less protective dust mitigation measures and to send thousands of tons of potentially low-level radioactive waste to recycling centers and less protective (and less expensive) California landfills. Boeing's actions will put workers, residents, the environment, and future generations at risk of cancer.
“Boeing should prove to us that plutonium-239 won’t get into our water or air during the demolition and disposal," says Melissa Bumstead, Parents Against SSFL founder and Co-Director, and whose daughter is a two-time cancer survivor. "Just because what Boeing is doing is legal doesn’t mean it’s safe.”
Sign our petition if you agree that Boeing must prove that the buildings are not still radioactive , or, use the safest demolition and disposal practices possible.*
P.S. to sign the petition for the compete, site-wide cleanup, go to www.change.org/SantaSusana
*More detailed information and best practices are available on our website: www.parentsagainstssfl.com/radioactive
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Petition created on October 5, 2026