‘Forever Chemicals’ From Old NASA Lab Leaking Into L A River
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‘Forever Chemicals’ From Old NASA Lab Leaking Into L.A. River.
Two highly toxic chemicals polluting a former Nasa research site are also probably contaminating the Los Angeles River and aquifer from which the region’s agricultural growers draw their water, watchdog groups and a whistleblower charge.
The Santa Susana field laboratory about 30 miles north of downtown Los Angeles is already notorious for its radioactive waste, but the site, which is owned by the federal government and Boeing, is also now suspected of leaching polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) “forever chemicals” into the water.
Despite evidence of the pollution and pressure from environmental groups to act, state regulators have so far allowed Boeing to continue polluting without a cleanup or proper monitoring for the dangerous chemicals, say the groups.
“California’s pollution control agencies are not just asleep at the switch but appear to be in a coma,” said Jeff Ruch, Pacific director of the non-profit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer), which has filed a lawsuit over the site’s cleanup.
PFAS are a class of about 15,000 compounds most frequently used to make products water-, stain- and grease-resistant. The chemicals are linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease and a range of other serious health problems. They are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down in the environment.
PFAS are the main ingredient in firefighting foam and are used in aerospace applications. Nasa and Boeing tested rockets at Santa Susana before the site’s 2006 closure, so the chemicals were probably employed in high quantities. PCBs are a chemical class that has been banned for over 40 years due to their high toxicity, but were used in industrial applications like electric transformers at Santa Susana.
The 2,800-acre site sits between the Simi and San Fernando valleys. Countless nuclear accidents occurred at the site, and residents living nearby have suspected radioactive waste from Santa Susana has sickened them.
The PFAS and PCB pollution in the ground probably migrates into the Los Angeles River headwaters. Water from the aquifer below the site is used by farmers in Ventura county and is likely to be contaminating crops, Peer charges.
Nasa in January 2021 alerted the California department of toxic substances control that “PFAS-containing materials are documented to have been located in the Nasa administered areas,” which the former recommended “for further investigation”.
But the investigation never happened, Ruch said. The Los Angeles regional water board, the state agency that could order monitoring and cleanup, meets on 28 Septem
Get it now -- https://shorturl.at/nvCU5 "
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
‘Forever Chemicals’ From Old NASA Lab Leaking Into L.A. River.
Two highly toxic chemicals polluting a former Nasa research site are also probably contaminating the Los Angeles River and aquifer from which the region’s agricultural growers draw their water, watchdog groups and a whistleblower charge.
The Santa Susana field laboratory about 30 miles north of downtown Los Angeles is already notorious for its radioactive waste, but the site, which is owned by the federal government and Boeing, is also now suspected of leaching polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) “forever chemicals” into the water.
Despite evidence of the pollution and pressure from environmental groups to act, state regulators have so far allowed Boeing to continue polluting without a cleanup or proper monitoring for the dangerous chemicals, say the groups.
“California’s pollution control agencies are not just asleep at the switch but appear to be in a coma,” said Jeff Ruch, Pacific director of the non-profit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer), which has filed a lawsuit over the site’s cleanup.
PFAS are a class of about 15,000 compounds most frequently used to make products water-, stain- and grease-resistant. The chemicals are linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease and a range of other serious health problems. They are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down in the environment.
PFAS are the main ingredient in firefighting foam and are used in aerospace applications. Nasa and Boeing tested rockets at Santa Susana before the site’s 2006 closure, so the chemicals were probably employed in high quantities. PCBs are a chemical class that has been banned for over 40 years due to their high toxicity, but were used in industrial applications like electric transformers at Santa Susana.
The 2,800-acre site sits between the Simi and San Fernando valleys. Countless nuclear accidents occurred at the site, and residents living nearby have suspected radioactive waste from Santa Susana has sickened them.
The PFAS and PCB pollution in the ground probably migrates into the Los Angeles River headwaters. Water from the aquifer below the site is used by farmers in Ventura county and is likely to be contaminating crops, Peer charges.
Nasa in January 2021 alerted the California department of toxic substances control that “PFAS-containing materials are documented to have been located in the Nasa administered areas,” which the former recommended “for further investigation”.
But the investigation never happened, Ruch said. The Los Angeles regional water board, the state agency that could order monitoring and cleanup, meets on 28 Septem