This news video is from ten years ago today.
When my daughter, Grace, was just four years old she was diagnosed with an incredibly rare form of leukemia. At the time, I had never even heard of the Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL) even though we lived less than four miles away.
A year later, I attended my first California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) meeting alongside other “cancer moms” I’d met at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. We wanted answers. Could the SSFL have caused our children’s cancers? It quickly became clear that DTSC was hiding the truth about the site and it’s risks to the public.
We’re at a critical moment. Boeing has long planned to leave 90% of the contamination at the SSFL and turn it into a public park. This fall, they’ll finally release the documents that initiate that process.
Before the end of the year, we must:
- Analyze and translate highly technical documents into clear, accurate information for the community with help from the Committee to Bridge the Gap—but without Dan Hirsch’s guidance, who passed away earlier this year.
- Educate our neighbors through webinars and social media.
- Meet with local elected officials to keep them informed of Boeing’s plans.
- Participate in community events like Día de los Muertos and Simi Valley’s Fall Street Fair to increase awareness of the current issues with the SSFL cleanup.
- Prepare for and respond to the judge’s ruling on our CEQA lawsuit against DTSC.
- Organize a massive community protest this fall protesting Boeing and DTSC’s decisions to walk away from the complete cleanup.
Already, we’ve made important progress this year: launching an air quality monitoring network around the SSFL, stopping Boeing from using outdated technology to disguise pollution flowing into the Los Angeles River, and taking our fight to Sacramento and Washington, D.C.
But now we’re facing significant new challenges. PASSFL relies heavily on grants, and this year, several we’ve depended on weren’t renewed due to changes in funding priorities. Without new support, we risk being forced to scale back—just when the fight is most urgent.
If you believe in protecting children’s health, holding polluters accountable, and advancing environmental justice, please consider becoming a monthly donor. Just $10 a month would make a big difference. All donations are tax-deductible through our fiscal sponsor, Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles.
Together, we’ve already made a difference. With your help, we can finish the fight.
With deep gratitude,
Melissa Bumstead