Public Hearing Set On Proposals To Clean Up Old Nuclear Testing, Rocket Lab Site Near Simi Valley

It’s been a controversial issue in eastern Ventura County, and the western San Fernando Valley for years. What needs to be done to clean an old nuclear testing and rocket lab facility near Simi Valley? A draft report on options to clean up part of the pollution at the Santa Susana Field Lab has been released, and is up for public comments. The Draft Environment Impact Statement looks at proposals for nearly 500 acres of land east, and northeast of the lab site. One of the proposals calls for removing more than 930,000 cubic yards of soil, and bringing in some 700,000 cubic years to backfill it. Residents living near the site say that the contamination has led to a number of people getting cancer. Boeing, which owns much of the old field lab site, says multiple studies have failed to find cancer clusters in the area. One of the big battles is over how much cleanup needs to be done to make the area safe. The U.S. Department of Energy's public hearing on the draft report will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Grand Vista Hotel in Simi Valley.