FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 13, 2025
Contact:
Jeff Ruch [PEER] (510) 213-7026 jruch@peer.org
Melissa Bumstead [Parents Against SSFL] (818) 233-0642 melissabumstead@gmail.com
Denise Duffield [PSR-LA] dduffield@psr-la.org
Daniel Hirsch [Committee to Bridge the Gap] danielhirsch558@gmail.com
U.S. DOE Reneges on Santa Susana Cleanup Commitment
Energy Department Stealth Reversal Shifts Huge Toxic Burden to California
Washington, DC — In a surprise move just days before Christmas, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it would no longer be bound by a longstanding pledge to completely clean up its portions of the highly polluted Santa Susana Field Laboratory near downtown Los Angeles. A coalition of public health groups is urging Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) to oppose this maneuver.
On December 19, 2024, DOE for the first time disclosed that it had filed a Notice of Intent to “evaluate additional alternatives for cleanup of soils in DOE areas at SSFL [Santa Susana Field Laboratory].” This bureaucratic language signals a decision by DOE to breach the legally binding cleanup agreement it had signed in 2010 and to dramatically weaken site cleanup standards instead.
If finalized, DOE would walk away from its prior commitment to fully remediate its radiological and toxic chemical waste at this site, located within 10 miles of 700,000 residents. The result would be that large amounts of chemical and radiological contamination would be left behind by DOE in perpetuity.
“If DOE succeeds, some of the most toxic areas of Santa Susana Field Laboratory will continue to pose a serious risk of harm to people living nearby from migration of contaminants,” stated Denise Duffield, Associate Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles. “The State of California will have to deal with the vast amounts of un-remediated soil which will be left at the end of final ‘cleanup’.”
This proposal emerged during the final days of the Biden administration, yet its outcome will be determined by the incoming Trump administration. This week, the Senate will take up the confirmation of Chris Wright to serve as the next Secretary of Energy. That hearing will be before the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources of which Sen. Padilla is a member. Sen. Padilla has been a strong, consistent voice for a complete SSFL cleanup.
The organizations leading the charge against the DOE retreat are Parents Against Santa Susan Field Lab, Physicians for Social Responsibility (L.A. Chapter), Committee to Bridge the Gap, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
“We hope that Senator Padilla can use his position to make sure that Secretary-designate Wright withdraws this reversal and pledge that DOE will live up to its previous clean up commitments at Santa Susana,” added Melissa Bumstead. “Senator Padilla lives near the SSFL, and he knows how important this is to public health.”
At the same time, the rigor of the cleanup of the portions of site owned by the Boeing Co. is under litigation in the California courts. The remaining SSFL tenant, NASA, will almost certainly follow DOE’s lead on whether to complete the SSFL cleanup down to background levels or leave the site so contaminated that it will not meet human health standards.
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Read the joint letter to Sen. Padilla
Look at 2021 letter from Sen. Padilla and California delegation on SSFL cleanup