Hi friends, there’s a lot to catch up on!

Three weeks ago, at the "Ever After Ball," my daughter Gracie was delighted to shave my hair off to raise funds for pediatric cancer research. Ironically, it was only a year before that Grace and I both shaved when her cancer returned for the second time. It was a night of tears, joy, and remembering Gracie’s friend, Hazel Hammersley, who dreamed of a cancer-free happily ever after.

Many of you asked how our fight to get clean drinking water in Simi Valley went, and I’m very happy to tell you that the city has postponed their plan to use groundwater contaminated by one of America’s worst nuclear meltdowns because of our protests! We’re still working with parents there to make sure 100% of the water they drink is clean.

I’ve also attended two protests against the Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) who have not only delayed decision documents for the Santa Susana cleanup again, but have let us see the extent of their agency’s depravity. In 2010, DTSC signed a cleanup agreement with the Dept. of Energy (DOE) that requires materials from SSFL that are contaminated with radiation above background levels be sent to facilities licensed to accept low-level radioactive waste.

But last month, DTSC released documents that indicate it will allow DOE to classify radioactive waste from Santa Susana’s buildings according to 1974 Atomic Energy Commission standards - standards that were never designed for safety purposes and allow thousands of times more radiation than current U.S. EPA guidelines. This violates their legal agreement, besides being blatantly dangerous.

We discovered that the DTSC, the agency meant to protect people from toxic waste, will give the polluter whatever it wants even if it means exposing people to radioactive waste.

And this wasn’t the first time either. They did the same thing in 2013, when the DTSC allowed thousands of tons of material from Boeing’s buildings at Santa Susana, much of it contaminated with radiation, to be sent to a recycling facility in Simi Valley as well as other sites that were not licensed to receive it. Can you imagine the demolition crew, the truck drivers, and the recycling workers going home and hugging their families, with no idea that they could be covered in radioactive dust?  

I’m daily horrified as I learn more how the DTSC has continually put our families directly in harm’s way. I truly think they are commiting crimes against humanity, because what could be worse than standing by and watching children like my daughter get cancer when it could be prevented? I am confident that if we can get the next governor of California to get involved, he will remove  the corrupt DTSC officials and get us the cleanup our community so desperately needs!

Even though we’re fighting giants like the Department of Toxic Substance Control, I know with your support we will be heard and we will get the 100% cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Lab.