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White Blight - Runkle Canyon's Chromium
Conundrum -- 6/26/08 VC Reporter
Joe Cirincione - 3rd Degree interview with
nuclear proliferation expert on The Bomb
6/12/08 Los Angeles CityBeat
Reassessing Runkle - KB Homes and State
agree to cooperate on troubled Simi canyon
4/24/08 VC Reporter
The Promised Land - Gov. Schwarzenegger
terminates the uncertainty of Rocketdyne
cleanup with historic move that keeps
California in charge -- 1/24/08 VC Reporter
Down the Test Tubes - KB Homes’ Runkle
Canyon radiation tests questioned as more
groundwater pollution is found and
developer negotiates cleanup agreement
with state -- 1/17/08 VC Reporter
Conundrum -- 6/26/08 VC Reporter
Joe Cirincione - 3rd Degree interview with
nuclear proliferation expert on The Bomb
6/12/08 Los Angeles CityBeat
Reassessing Runkle - KB Homes and State
agree to cooperate on troubled Simi canyon
4/24/08 VC Reporter
The Promised Land - Gov. Schwarzenegger
terminates the uncertainty of Rocketdyne
cleanup with historic move that keeps
California in charge -- 1/24/08 VC Reporter
Down the Test Tubes - KB Homes’ Runkle
Canyon radiation tests questioned as more
groundwater pollution is found and
developer negotiates cleanup agreement
with state -- 1/17/08 VC Reporter
| Aerojet Chino Hills $23 million clean up is down and dirty - HOT PHOTOS! Real Best LA -Grand Tour! Dawn in Desert Wonderland This is really green! Our interview with Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams in the Pasadena Weekly and LA CityBeat |
Schooled for Scandal
Reports of radioactive and chemical pollution
at the Brentwood VA go from bad to worse
Reports of radioactive and chemical pollution
at the Brentwood VA go from bad to worse
West Los Angeles
| Well, looky here! Deep research reveals that the VA nuke dump in Brentwood is far more polluted than previously known. Documents tell the tale! |
| KCET's multi-award-winning program takes a look at Brentwood's biomedical nuke dump! December 19, 2007 broadcast here! |
- Los Angeles Councilman Bill Rosendahl leads tough talks with
VA to secure $1 million for comprehensive Phase 2 tests of
West LA VA's forgotten biomedical nuclear dump
- Controversial and incomplete Phase 1 test results released
and show heightened radiation under two arroyos skirting
Barrington Dog Park and Brentwood School football field
- KCET's "Life & Times" covers nuke dump issue and VA says of
Phase II tests, "From our perspective, there's nothing to get out."
- Documents reveal astronomical levels of heavy metal
contamination at Brentwood School's 'shared' VA property
- Arsenic found at 32 times natural level while poisonous
thallium at readings government calls 'chronic' for disease
- Athletic fields built for school in area used for dumping from
three hospitals over decades until the early 1970s
- Government says that $1 million Phase II testing will finally put
issue to rest when boring commences in Spring 2008
- School insists property free of waste even as documents show
complicity in building football field over used syringes
- VA/Brentwood School contract appears to indemnify the
government from liability over Cold War pollution under fields
- Head of Brentwood School tells parents government withdrew
report of contamination -- documents say otherwise
- VA's historic nuclear area still active with research
- 1983 boring of nuke dump heart with over 80 samples taken
revealed nothing yet government insists on duplicating tests
- "Million Dollar Maybe" documents VA admission that dump
"complicated" the issue of possible VA land development, now
shelved as new legislation to protect property advances
The Promised Land - Gov. Schwarzenegger
terminates the uncertainty of Rocketdyne cleanup
with historic move that keeps California in charge
– for now
terminates the uncertainty of Rocketdyne cleanup
with historic move that keeps California in charge
– for now
- Long bitter battle of Rocketdyne resolved January 15, 2008 with State
negotiating highest cleanup standards for intensely-polluted Boeing lab
- Boeing signs October 12, 2007 Letter of Intent with State which includes
LOI summary
- Rocketdyne watchdog Dan Hirsch and Norm Riley face off at October
meeting arguing over cleanup standards issues later resolved
- Assemblyman Greg Smyth floats 30,000-acre park in early December
survey of constituents living close to Rocketdyne
- Environmentalists push Superfund listing in December 19, 2007 letter to
Gov. Schwarzenegger before changing goals and tactics
- Negotiations culminate with environmentalists signing onto deal with
California EPA Secretary Linda Adams in January 9, 2008 meeting
- Adams informs U.S. EPA that State will decline Superfund listing for now
- Cal-EPA's Department of Toxic Substances Control lead on site
characterization and cleanup codified with U.S. EPA heading radiation work
- State Sen. Sheila Kuehl relieved of obligation to roll back provisions of her
bill to clean up Santa Susana Field Lab to highest Superfund standards
- State Assemblymember Julia Brownley hails "amazing day"
- Radiation Rangers call breakthrough "Good News and Bad News" noting
that cancerous TCE is discovered in adjacent Runkle Canyon
Area IV of Rocketdyne lab had two meltdowns
Ventura County
| EnviroReporter.com on |
| Over 30,000 rocket engine tests took place at the Santa Susana Field Lab |
January 17, 2008
December 19, 2007
Simi Valley
| Denise Anne Duffield & Michael Collins |
June 26, 2008
White Blight - Runkle Canyon's Chromium
Conundrum
Conundrum
- Radiation Rangers, Rev. John Southwick and Frank Serafine, discover
white substance covering vast area of Runkle Canyon on March 26,
2008
- White evaporate creates surreal 'dead zone'
- Department of Toxic Substances Control's Norm Riley takes sample
and has it tested at DTSC lab and gives Serafine "Rock with White
Evaporate" report
- Heavy metal readings show high chromium, nickel, molybdenum,
potassium and iron
- DTSC report calls material "evaporative salt" two weeks before getting
lab results. High chromium readings ignored but EnviroReporter.com
performs extensive Runkle Canyon chromium analysis
- Potassium over 635 times normal, molybdenum 14 times higher, iron
3,243 times more than in average California soil
- Chromium six times EPA Preliminary Remediation Goal and eleven
times average in soil and levels trip investigation guidelines in New
Jersey, Kentucky, Oregon and Canada
- Type of chromium unknown but hexavalent variety a human carcinogen
and trivalent "valence" harmful to mammals and birds
- Chromium previously found by city of Simi Valley in Runkle Canyon
surface water
- Runkle Canyon chromium, nickel and molybdenum all higher than
Rocketdyne averages
- DTSC official says similar material found in west San Fernando Valley
canyon on the opposite side of Rocketdyne from Runkle Canyon. "We
were in Runkle Canyon and observed a similar kind of salt," official
says. "We checked the precipitate salt and found that it wasn't a
problem to public health"
- Boeing fined $471,190 by California Regional Water Quality Control
Board on September 11, 2007. "The violations consisted of wastewater
and storm water run-off discharges with elevated levels of chromium..."
- Boeing official contradicts himself in sworn documents given to DTSC
that mischaracterize Rocketdyne's border with Runkle and offsite tests
- Radiation Ranger "Toxic Terry" Matheney demands that the white "dead
zone" be immediately remediated. "KB Home has to scrape that crap off
the surface of the soil before next season's rains or it will be washed
down into the Arroyo Simi and we'll end up drinking it"
EnviroReporter.com performs extensive
Runkle Canyon chromium analysis
Runkle Canyon chromium analysis
"White Blight" photo gallery