Presentation - City of Calabasas

Santa Susana Field Laboratory
Cleanup Criteria from the Perspective of a Neighborhood Council
City of Calabasas, California
Environmental Commission
November 4th, 2014 Christine L. Rowe
TOXMAP CLASSIC FACILITIES TOXMAP BETA FACILITIES
NASA FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT – ERROR IN TOTAL CUMULATIVE IMPACT STATEMENT – TOTAL TRUCKS PER DAY TO MEET 2017 DEADLINE – 316 TRUCKS IN EACH DIRECTION PER DAY ON ONE ROUTE VIA WEST HILLS, CANOGA PARK, CHATSWORTH, AND WOODLAND HILLS TO COMPLY WITH CURRENT AGREEMENTS
ONLY FEASIBLE ROUTES VIA WEST HILLS, CANOGA PARK, CHATSWORTH, AND WOODLAND HILLS
NEW ROUTES / ROADS, CONVEYORS, ETC WOULD REQUIRE EMINANT DOMAIN, DESTROY HABITAT AND POTENTIALLY DESTROY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES – NEW ROUTES WOULD REQUIRE THEIR OWN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS – ABOUT A FIVE YEAR PROCESS, WOULD CREATE POTENTIAL LITIGATION – WHO WILL BEAR THE COSTS?
Cancer Incidence in the Community Surrounding
the Rocketdyne Facility in Southern California
Hal Morgenstern, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
“Conclusion: Despite the methodologic limitations of this study, the findings suggest there may be elevated incidence rates of certain cancers near SSFL that have been linked in previous studies with hazardous substances used at Rocketdyne, some of which have been observed or projected to exist offsite. There is no direct evidence from this investigation, however, that these observed associations reflect the effects of environmental exposures originating at SSFL. Given these provocative findings and unanswered questions, it is tempting to recommend further analyses or future studies to address the health concerns of the community. Unfortunately, it is not clear at this time whether such additional analyses or studies will be sufficient to determine whether operations and activities at Rocketdyne affected, or will affect, the risk of cancer in the surrounding neighborhoods.”
“It is important to recognize that associations observed between distance from SSFL and
the incidence of specific cancers are based on small numbers of cases in the region closest to SSFL. Thus, these associations are estimated imprecisely and may represent chance findings. In addition, observed associations may have been biased by certain methodologic limitations—use of distance from SSFL as a crude proxy measure for environmental exposures, mobility of the residential population before and during the follow‐up period, and lack of information on other cancer risk factors, such as cigarette smoking and socioeconomic status, that might distort the observed associations.”
Cancer Occurrence in Offsite Neighborhoods Near the Santa Susana Field Laboratory Thomas Mack, M.D., M.P.H. Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California Conclusion •It is not possible to completely rule out any offsite carcinogenic effects from SSFL •No evidence of measureable offsite cancer causation occurring as a result of emissions from the SSFL was found. •Further, no evidence of any cancer causation by any environmental factor was found. Was there a meltdown at the Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL)?
“DTSC does not believe the term provides a useful description of the events that occurred at SSFL in the summer of 1959. A meltdown is commonly understood to mean a catastrophic failure at a nuclear reactor. The term implies loss of cooling to the reactor core, uncontrolled fission and subsequent melting of a large portion of the nuclear fuel with potential
containment failure and large‐scale release of radioactive
materials to the environment. Meltdown (or partial
meltdown) is not typically used to communicate technical
or regulatory information. The Nuclear Regulatory
Commission uses the term core melt accident to describe
"an event or sequence of events that result in the melting
of part of the fuel in the reactor core."
WHNC Resolution for the SSFL Cleanup Traffic Study
The Department of Toxic Substances Control has announced that it has begun studies for the
transportation alternatives for the soil removal resulting from the clean up activities at the SSFL and it is
seeking public input on transportation alternatives to be considered.
The West Hills Neighborhood Council has the following fundamental considerations that must be
addressed as part of this study to mitigate the consequences of the traffic options that will use routes
through the West Hills community.
The truck traffic must be minimized either through the selection of cleanup method, other traffic
routes or a stretch‐out of the project schedule since it will become a major intrusion into West Hills. On
site treatment of soil should be a major component of any cleanup.
Air monitoring in the community during the excavation and transportation is necessary so that if
unhealthful respiratory conditions arise, then the cleanup activities would cease until corrective actions are
taken.
There must be active monitoring and management of the traffic with items such as the timed green
light for trucks leaving the SSFL.
Trucks should not use the streets during school drop‐off and pickup hours during the day.
The cleanup schedule is a secondary consideration and should be lengthened if necessary to
mitigate the effects of the traffic.
Traffic in the neighborhood should be monitored, particularly at intersections and school entrances,
which may become dysfunctional and require corrective action.
There should be a traffic safety analysis of Woolsey Canyon and Valley Circle for the dual trailer
trucks that may be used.
Analysis and plans must be prepared and shown for various traffic routes and those include
anticipated road damage and repair schedules. A number of the major thoroughfares through West Hills
that might be used by this project have recently been repaved and these roads should not be allowed to
deteriorate.
The Responsible Parties must be financially liable for accidents, damage and injury in the
community as a result of the cleanup.
The traffic plan should contain a comprehensive program for all of the affected communities
including Woodland Hills, Canoga Park, West Hills, Bell Canyon, West Hills, Chatsworth, Simi Valley and
others surrounding the SSFL. The points raised above apply to these communities and the DTSC traffic
plan should be all‐embracing in response to the communities’ concerns and recommendations.
August 5, 2014
Chatsworth Council Objects to Santa Susana Cleanup Plan
“The Chatsworth Neighborhood Council voted unanimously Wednesday to submit a letter to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control objecting to the truck routes proposed for the removal of soil from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory.
The DTSC presented the “preliminary transportation route options” – 10 truck routes and two conveyance routes – at public meetings in August and asked for feedback from the community.
Linda van der Valk, chair of the Land Use Committee, wrote in the letter that the three routes which travel through or near Chatsworth are “unacceptable.” Under the proposal, trucks would travel along Woolsey Canyon Road, Plummer Street and Lake Manor Drive.
According to the council, the trucks would go through four public parklands, including Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park and Chatsworth Park South, and pass near Chatsworth Park Elementary School and several private schools and daycare centers.
“The road through Lake Manor is not well‐suited to high volume truck traffic, since it has one lane in each direction, multiple curves causing limited visibility, and cannot be expanded practically,” the council states in the letter.
The U.S. Department of Energy plans to remove nearly 1.7 million cubic yards of contaminated soil. The operation will require
more than 104,000 truckloads over 12 years. NASA has identified 500,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil. The two agencies and Boeing are responsible for cleaning up contamination at the 2,800‐acre Santa Susana site.
The Santa Susana Field Laboratory between Simi Valley and the western San Fernando Valley was developed in the late 1940s for rocket‐engine development and testing. The site was also used for nuclear research and development from 1954 until 1989. Radioactive isotopes and toxic chemicals remain at the site.
The Chatsworth Neighborhood Council also encourages the DTSC to change the level of cleanup required from the “background” standard to a suburban residential standard. The lower requirement would still provide safety for human health but would reduce the amount of soil being removed by two‐thirds, according to the council.
The letter states NASA’s proposal, which includes replacing only a third of the removed soil and using gravel in other areas,
would create “its own environmental nightmare.” Chatsworth residents are also concerned about contaminants falling off the trucks as they pass through the neighborhood, although NASA claims this is highly unlikely due to their safety measures.
“We do not believe this community should bear the brunt of an artificially excessive cleanup with unnecessary contaminants from truck emissions, traffic and accident risks involving these excessive cleanups,” the council states in the letter.
The agencies have agreed to clean up the site by 2017, but the Chatsworth council states the deadline is unrealistic. They have urged the DTSC to push back the deadline and conduct environmental reviews of the proposed truck routes.”
Santa Susana Field Lab Forum Highlights Competing Views
“Scott Silverstein, chair of the Woodland Hills‐Warner Center council, said the communities in the southwest San Fernando Valley had not been actively involved in the cleanup debate until about a year ago.
“We brought these professionals to educate you so you could make a decision on how you want to proceed going forward,” he told the audience at the start of the meeting.
Corinne Ho, chair of the Canoga Park council, said she became concerned as a community leader and as a parent when she began hearing about the plan to haul truckloads of contaminated soil through West Valley communities.
“I’m concerned about how this will affect me and my family when we are told about 316 trucks daily, going one way, hauling contaminated soil – both chemical and radioactive,” she said.”