Entire Pat-Chem Laboratories report

Bakalis wrote “The residents’ group funded the recent $3,000 soil and water test of certain parts of the property. The results found high levels of arsenic, nickel, copper and other metals, according to the group.” This is wrong in both sentences – the residents had $3,000 worth of testing done and high levels of copper were not found. However high amounts of vanadium were.

Bakalis blows it again: “The report was sent directly from the lab to a reporter at the CityBeat Web site, based in Los Angeles, and residents said they never received a copy. A request by The Star for the residents’ full report was also unsuccessful because group members said they did not have a copy of the full document.” The report was not sent to a reporter at the CityBeat website; it was sent to Collins at EnviroReporter.com. Rev. Southwick received the full report because he paid for it as did Coryell. The group not only received the pertinent two pages of the report but a six-page analysis of the Title 22 metals found at very high levels in Runkle Canyon water and soil.

Anna Bakalis is no stranger to inaccurate reporting. In an October 6, 2006 article for the Star, her article title alone contains two major errors. “Test lab linked to cancers – Study blames Santa Susana site for 260 cases in 60 square miles,” is wrong in that the study actually said that 260 to 1,800 people within a 62-mile radius contracted cancer from the 1959 partial meltdown of a Rocketdyne reactor. That’s 195 square miles not 60. The article itself contains more errors.

Simi Valley Acorn:

On June 29, 2007, the paper’s editor Kyle Jorrey wrote “Mayor wants to see alleged Runkle Canyon contamination for himself – Residents say lab test done on creek water showed signs of arsenic” which incorrectly reports that the residents paid “around $4,000″ for the testing. The next week’s article, “City, KB Home obtain water, soil samples from Runkle Canyon sites – Lab results expected within 10 days” had Jorrey writing it cost $3,000. Both articles are wrong as stated earlier.

Jorrey reports in the first article that Mayor Miller told KB Home and Lennar to “halt grading in the canyon in October 2006″ when, in fact, there wasn’t any grading taking place. KB Home needs to acquire grading permits before any earth-moving occurs. The Mayor simply slowed this process in order to investigate the pollution problems in Runkle Canyon.

In the second article, Jorrey makes the mistake of copying Bakalis’ erroneous reporting that high levels of copper were found in Runkle Canyon. The third heavy metal, after arsenic and nickel, was vanadium.

The second article also contained this falsehood: “… Matheney’s assertions that the glove he had used to take samples eventually melted from a chemical reaction.” Matheney never asserted that. He described how when he first saw the liquid from Runkle Canyon creek water began bubbling on his chemically-rated gloves, it alarmed him and he took them off.

Right after this, Jorrey quotes the Mayor: “Well, I put that rubber glove in the water and it didn’t melt,” Miller said. “And we have retained that glove in a plastic bag to see if it ever will melt.” This is where grossly inaccurate journalism aggravates an already exasperating situation — the Star wrote three days before the second Acorn article that all the residents saw a glove melt, Mayor Miller read it and then dropped a glove in a bag to see if it would melt. His simplistic notion and condescending attitude is astonishing.

Mayor and City Council statements

Jorrey writes “Miller and Williamson also noted an abundance of insect and plant life near the locations tested, which KB Home said are located south of the site where the firm plans to build houses. “We saw lots of bees, butterflies . . . I would think if there was something really toxic in the ground we wouldn’t see that.” That statement is ludicrous and betrays ignorance regarding the very basics of environmental science.

Council Member Barbra Williamson helps bring the article to a close with this: “Williamson said she was also struck by the residents’ refusal. They say the complete report is in the hands of Los Angeles City Beat reporter Michael Collins. “They’re not coming forward and giving us the documentation we’ve been asking for,” she said. “That can only go so far.’” But the citizens paid for the testing – not the City. These “Radiation Rangers” have pleaded with the City repeatedly to come and test the water, but they never did. It is disingenuous for the City to subsequently act like they are entitled to the residents’ report.

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