NUCLEAR REACTIONS
Pre-1980 and 1995 maps of the dumping grounds, drawn from the recollections of VA personnel, show this area being in the arroyo southeast of the dog park and northwest of the Brentwood Theatre. At least 18 similar piles, resembling oversized burial mounds lined up in a row, sit along the arroyo. They match the maps for area A and were pointed out by Noel on the November 30 field inspection.
Not all information about the dump will be so readily attainable. Last year, contractor PricewaterhouseCoopers published a report stating that radioactive waste and asbestos-containing material were buried under 15-to-30 feet of fill under the Brentwood School athletic field. That report was analyzing the property for potential development, but the VA refused to divulge where the contractor had found this information, stating by way of explanation that “the technical nature of some of the subject matter made a written response less satisfactory and likely to raise more questions.” The VA also criticized the PricewaterhouseCoopers’s response for making “wrong assumptions.”
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles), the soon-to-be chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, requested the same information in a March 27 letter to VA Secretary Nicholson and was told he’d get it in August. Waxman is still waiting and it appears that Noel won’t have much better luck. “I have read the report,” said Noel at the community meeting. “No, I don’t have any additional information and in trying so far to get to that source, I’m reaching a lot of blind alleys.”
Noel’s quest hasn’t ended at the VA, a point he made clear at the meeting. He is reaching out to government officials, the press, and any agency that might have relevant information. “I want to get to the bottom of this, put it to bed, and have the community say ‘we accept that,’ and go on,” said Noel.
Michael Collins and extensive documentation of this investigation, including photographs, maps, and official reports, can be reached at EnviroReporter.com.
