Every time a child in our community is diagnosed with cancer, I feel responsible. My teenage daughter is a two-time cancer survivor, so I know what these newly diagnosed families are in for and I know some of the children won’t survive. What hurts the most is knowing that these cancers might have been prevented if the Boeing Company completely cleaned up the Santa Susana Field Lab.

I worried that my advocacy work for the cleanup wasn’t doing anything… until last week.

The Santa Susana Field Lab is hidden in the hills that border Los Angeles. Soil from the lab runs downhill when it rains, washing dangerous toxic chemicals and radioactive waste into the communities below. The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board oversees Boeing’s rainwater runoff permit. Over the last few decades, Boeing has been fined a total of $1,000,000 for allowing their toxic rainwater to pollute the waterways in communities surrounding the Field Lab.

But for the last decade, the Water Board hasn’t been strict with Boeing’s permit. They’ve allowed the permit to be relaxed. They’ve waived major fines. They’ve limited the types of contaminants to be restricted. They limited monitoring stations. That just changed. 

The difference? People sharing their stories.

A dozen community members shared their heartbreaking stories during the Water Board’s hearing. Whole families have been stricken with diseases caused by the Santa Susana’s Field Lab’s contamination.  There were tears from the community and the Water Board. 

One of our big fights was that under the proposed permit, Boeing was allowed to reroute polluted rainwater into an unlined pond where it could potentially leech into the groundwater below, impacting the community’s drinking water. Michael Stenstrom, a UCLA professor and an expert paid by Boeing, testified that his study found almost no infiltration from the pond into the water supply.

I was shocked when Water Board Member David Nahai pushed back. He said it didn't matter if the infiltration was minimal.

"It could still have a substantial impact," he said. "But where people are complaining about getting sick to tell them that we think it is minimal and therefore can be ignored, I don't think is good enough."

The Board then went on to strengthen the permit, tighten requirements, and order Boeing to expedite studies. I had goosebumps the whole hearing and more than once I cheered. For once, a government board heard us. They cared about us. And they took steps to limit Boeing’s harm to our community. 

We still have a big fight to get the complete cleanup of the site. But this was a real victory and it was such a relief to see our efforts are making a difference. 

I was so proud of my community. They’ve been doing this for a long time. And sharing these stories are painful. I know. It’s painful for me to talk about my daughter’s cancer. But it’s making a difference. We’re doing it because our kids matter. We know the cleanup will protect our kids and we don’t want even one more child diagnosed with cancer if we can prevent it. 

If you live in Southern California, will you speak up for us too? Sign up for our newsletter to get emails about our upcoming actions. If you’re not local, a tax-deductible donation would be helpful. Or, you could just forward this email to a friend or coworker who doesn’t know about the Field Lab. It’s a small action that would be very appreciated.

On behalf of my community, thank you for helping, whatever that looks like. Together, we can get the complete cleanup of the site.

You can read more about the Water Board hearing in the Ventura County Star Newspaper.