The 2018 Woolsey Fire burned almost 100,000 acres of land in the greater Los Angeles area. What many people didn’t realize was that the fire began three miles from my home, at the site of one of America’s worst nuclear meltdowns, the Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL).
The California EPA oversees the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). They sent out community updates during the fire stating, “the fire did not present any risks… of releases of hazardous materials… no radiation levels above background [normal] levels…”
But we didn’t believe CalEPA or DTSC. They’ve lied to us too many times before about the dangers of the site.
The SSFL’s radioactive fallout can be absorbed by the plants growing in the contaminated soil. When those plants burn, they can release the radioactive smoke and ash. That’s basic science. As the fire began only a thousand feet from the actual meltdown location at the SSFL, we knew the DTSC was withholding information. We knew we had to do our own independent testing.
We just got the results back this week from an independent, peer-reviewed study:
The soil samples we took prove that the Woolsey Fire released dangerous radioactive particles from the Santa Susana Field Lab, into our community.
Thankfully not all of our 350 samples were radioactive, but the hottest sample was found at 19 times above background [normal] levels, nine miles away from the SSFL.
The DTSC had an opportunity to warn residents as the fire was happening, to take precautions to prevent exposure to the radioactive smoke and ash. But they didn’t. They didn't even warn us to keep our kids inside. Many children in our area went to school and had recess outdoors that day.
The DTSC took the least protective measures because they didn’t want to admit that they've lied for years that the SSFL’s radioactive and chemical contamination can “migrate” into our community. They’ve told us at public meetings that the SSFL posed no danger to our community, despite their own findings and the 60% higher cancer incidence rate, proved by an independent epidemiological study.
CalEPA and DTSC were more concerned about protecting themselves, and the SSFL’s polluters, than they were about protecting our community. Our children were in extreme danger of breathing in radioactive contamination and they didn't care.
Three years later, CalEPA and DTSC are still more concerned about their agency’s reputation than protecting our community. They’re currently in confidential negotiations with Boeing, one of the SSFL’s owners, to reduce the SSFL's cleanup by eighty percent!
Until the lab is completely cleaned, we’ll always be at risk of being exposed to radioactive contamination every time there’s a wildfire, or when it’s windy or raining.
Would you please help us by tweeting the California EPA to enforce the cleanup agreements they signed with Boeing in 2007, to give us the safest, smartest and most comprehensive cleanup available?
Warmly,
Melissa Bumstead
Parents Against SSFL
Tweet 1:
@CaliforniaEPA don't cut a deal with @Boeing to slash the #SantaSusana Field Lab cleanup! The #WoolseyFire soil study proves the lab's radioactive contamination gets to our community! https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/radioactive-waste-fell-on-some-la-area-neighborhoods-during-2018-woolsey-fire-new-study-shows/2714652
Tweet 2:
The 2018 #WoolseyFire wouldn’t have been radioactive if the Santa Susana Field Lab had been cleaned up by 2017 like @CaliforniaEPA promised. Please share! https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/radioactive-waste-fell-on-some-la-area-neighborhoods-during-2018-woolsey-fire-new-study-shows/2714652
Tweet 3:
@CaliforniaEPA kept quiet when 700K people in greater #LosAngeles were in danger of being exposed to radioactive smoke from the Santa Susana Field Lab during the #WoolseyFire. https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/radioactive-waste-fell-on-some-la-area-neighborhoods-during-2018-woolsey-fire-new-study-shows/2714652