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HOT ZONE
By Michael Collins
LA Weekly - November 9, 2000
Offbeat was sitting at home last month when the phone rang; Jonathan Parfrey of the Los Angeles branch of
Physicians for Social Responsibility was on the line. "Aerojet’s on fire!" he blurted out. As longtime reporters on
hazardous contamination at the defense contracting giant’s Chino Hills installation, we, of course, were interested.
We turned on the TV to see images of the blaze moving up the facility’s northern buffer zone – the same place
where the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) last year identified traces of the poisonous
incendiary chemicals Royal Demolition Explosive (RDX) and High Melting Explosive (HMX). "RDX is a highly
combustible white powder that can get into the lungs and cause seizures," says Parfrey. "HMX, used in nuclear
devices, plastic explosives and rocket fuel, is a mega-nasty concoction that explodes violently at high temperatures."
We were also aware that levels of the rocket fuel oxidizer perchlorate in the creek at Aerojet’s perimeter were nearly
five times higher than the state danger limit. Frantic, we hit the phones, and eventually reached a San Bernardino
County fire marshal. The marshal (who requested that his name be withheld from this report to prevent friction
between local fire agencies) told us that his department had no idea of the hazards at the site. He also said that the
men and women on the fire line were not wearing respirators.
As the fire marshal recounted the story later, he immediately ordered a change in tactics. "I called the incident
commander and said, ‘Do not send anybody into that facility with the intention of cutting a fire line, fighting fire or
protecting those structures,’ " he said. With the help of water-dropping aircraft, the flames were beaten back. But
last week, the unorthodox chain of events inspired the L.A.-based Committee to Bridge the Gap to ask Governor
Grey Davis to order state regulatory agencies to conduct a prompt review of fire protection at facilities with
hazardous contamination on site. The group also demanded new regulations strengthening notification of toxic
hazards to fire agencies, and setting new tougher limits on pollutants that could migrate offsite during a
conflagration. “The fires of the last few of the last few months should serve as a wake-up call,” said Daniel Hirsch
and Bill Magavern of the Committee to Bridge the Gap in an October 23rd letter to Governor Davis. “During a fire,
radioactive and chemical poisons in vegetation and soil are released into the air, where they can threaten human
health.” The Chino Hills fire, however, had an even more explosive problem. "Firefighters at Aerojet had more to
worry about than random toxins," concludes Parfrey. "That damn place is littered with perhaps hundreds of
unexploded bombs."
By Michael Collins
LA Weekly - November 9, 2000
Offbeat was sitting at home last month when the phone rang; Jonathan Parfrey of the Los Angeles branch of
Physicians for Social Responsibility was on the line. "Aerojet’s on fire!" he blurted out. As longtime reporters on
hazardous contamination at the defense contracting giant’s Chino Hills installation, we, of course, were interested.
We turned on the TV to see images of the blaze moving up the facility’s northern buffer zone – the same place
where the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) last year identified traces of the poisonous
incendiary chemicals Royal Demolition Explosive (RDX) and High Melting Explosive (HMX). "RDX is a highly
combustible white powder that can get into the lungs and cause seizures," says Parfrey. "HMX, used in nuclear
devices, plastic explosives and rocket fuel, is a mega-nasty concoction that explodes violently at high temperatures."
We were also aware that levels of the rocket fuel oxidizer perchlorate in the creek at Aerojet’s perimeter were nearly
five times higher than the state danger limit. Frantic, we hit the phones, and eventually reached a San Bernardino
County fire marshal. The marshal (who requested that his name be withheld from this report to prevent friction
between local fire agencies) told us that his department had no idea of the hazards at the site. He also said that the
men and women on the fire line were not wearing respirators.
As the fire marshal recounted the story later, he immediately ordered a change in tactics. "I called the incident
commander and said, ‘Do not send anybody into that facility with the intention of cutting a fire line, fighting fire or
protecting those structures,’ " he said. With the help of water-dropping aircraft, the flames were beaten back. But
last week, the unorthodox chain of events inspired the L.A.-based Committee to Bridge the Gap to ask Governor
Grey Davis to order state regulatory agencies to conduct a prompt review of fire protection at facilities with
hazardous contamination on site. The group also demanded new regulations strengthening notification of toxic
hazards to fire agencies, and setting new tougher limits on pollutants that could migrate offsite during a
conflagration. “The fires of the last few of the last few months should serve as a wake-up call,” said Daniel Hirsch
and Bill Magavern of the Committee to Bridge the Gap in an October 23rd letter to Governor Davis. “During a fire,
radioactive and chemical poisons in vegetation and soil are released into the air, where they can threaten human
health.” The Chino Hills fire, however, had an even more explosive problem. "Firefighters at Aerojet had more to
worry about than random toxins," concludes Parfrey. "That damn place is littered with perhaps hundreds of
unexploded bombs."
