Exclusive 2019 Update: VICTORY AT THE VA – West LA Veterans Administration master plan protects old nuclear dump from development [According to Brentwood School, the Upper Field was “recently renovated” which may or may not have involved the removal of thallium-contaminated dirt described below.] P. 9-10/172: “Apparent medical incinerator ash […]

National Academy of Science report rekindles hot debate over California’s perchlorate contamination By Michael Collins Los Angeles CityBeat/ValleyBeat – January 20, 2005 The January 10 release of a National Academy of Sciences report on the hazards of the rocket fuel oxidizer perchlorate has the defense and aerospace industry crowing while […]

National Academy of Sciences report reignites debate on danger of perchlorate By Michael Collins Pasadena Weekly – January 20, 2005 The Jan. 10 release of the National Academy of Sciences report on the hazards of perchlorate recommends national drinking water standards be radically more lax than those that the Environmental […]

Protecting kids from perchlorate isn’t rocket science By Michael Collins Ventura County Reporter – January 20, 2005 On Jan. 10, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released a report on the hazards of perchlorate that has the defense and aerospace industry crowing and some environmentalists singing the blues. The NAS […]

Simi Valley’s Rocketdyne facility was blasted by 50 years of rocket engines and nuclear reactor meltdowns, leaving a toxic disaster atop what residents call “The Hill.” Runoff may be poisoning Southland residents. And now the government just broke a promise to clean it up. Los Angeles ValleyBeat – June 12, […]

Los Angeles CityBeat/ValleyBeat – July 3, 2003 Last week’s news that the toxic chemical perchlorate was found gurgling from a groundwater well, nearly a mile outside the northern border of the Rocketdyne facility, shocked many Simi and San Fernando valley residents. But former Rocketdyne worker Lynwood Sibley was hardly surprised. […]

Cal-EPA comes down on Simi Valley’s Rocketdyne facility By Michael Collins Los Angeles ValleyBeat – October 23, 2003 The toxic leaks continue at the Rocketdyne lab in Simi Valley. After high levels of the toxic rocket fuel oxidizer perchlorate were found this summer near the facility, California’s Environmental Protection Agency […]

2000-2024 Aerojet Chino Hills Investigation Main Page Aerojet Chino Hills on Google Maps Aerojet Rocketdyne – Owner of Aerojet Rocketdyne Chino Hills Department of Toxic Substances Control Aerojet – Chino Hills – State oversight Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. – Owner of Aerojet Rocketdyne Carbon Canyon Chronicle: Excellent local coverage of […]

Neighbors of closed Aerojet plant worry about their health and water By Michael Collins LA Weekly – May 11, 2000 Fred Sharp thought it was funny the time his son brought home 20 rounds of machine-gun ammo he had found in his Chino Hills neighborhood. But Sharp, a Vietnam vet […]

A closed weapons plant in the Chino Hills may be leaking hazardous chemicals into the Santa Ana River. By Michael Collins Orange County Weekly – May 18, 2000 Fred Sharp thought it was funny the time his son brought home 20 rounds of machine-gun ammo he had found in his […]

The battle over the massive Ahmanson Ranch housing development heats up amid growing concerns about possible water and soil contamination from nearby Rocketdyne. By Michael Collins Ventura County Reporter – December 12, 2002 July 1959. Eastern Ventura County. Simi Valley folks squirmed uncomfortably in their chairs as they watched their flickering […]

A popular Brentwood dog park on Veterans Administration property is build over an old radioactive waste dump that may soon be unearthed by proposed development. by Michael Collins EnviroReporter.com – May 18, 2006 SUVs and luxury sedans glide into the Barrington Dog Park parking lot just south of Sunset Boulevard […]

Runkle Canyon is poised to be Simi Valley’s newest neighborhood. But did the city misinterpret the risk of radioactive material in the ground? By Michael Collins Ventura County Reporter – March 17, 2005 Cattle graze on verdant hills as winter winds whip through the branches of centuries-old oaks on Runkle […]

Selling Runkle Canyon pollution report as clean By Michael Collins Los Angeles CityBeat – August 23, 2007 The headlines out of Ventura County last week must have pleased Simi Valley officials intent on convincing its citizenry of the benign nature of Runkle Canyon’s soil and water. This is where homebuilding […]

2000-2024 Aerojet Rocketdyne Chino Hills Investigation Main Page “Perchlorate draining off Aerojet Chino Hills” – October 26, 2017 Surface and subsurface water tests ordered by DTSC in response to EnviroReporter.com comments finds high perchlorate, explosive RDX and uranium. DTSC notifies no one about it.   “Dead for the Hills” – […]

Rocketdyne’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory was on the frontlines of the Cold War. Now some who lived near “The Hill” say they share two distinctions: chronic illness and the unswerving belief that the lab caused it By Michael Collins Los Angeles magazine – June 1998 ON A HOT JULY NIGHT […]