Santa Susana Field Laboratory

The Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), formerly known as Rocketdyne, is a complex of industrial research and development facilities located on a 2,668-acre (1,080 ha)^[1] portion of Southern California in an unincorporated area of Ventura County in the Simi Hills between Simi Valley and Los Angeles. The site is located approximately 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Hollywood and approximately 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Sage Ranch Park is adjacent on part of the northern boundary and the community of Bell Canyon is along the entire southern boundary.^[2]

SSFL was used mainly for the development and testing of liquid-propellant rocket engines for the United States space program from 1949 to 2006,^[1] nuclear reactors from 1953 to 1980 and the operation of a U.S. government-sponsored liquid metals research center from 1966 to 1998.^[3] Throughout the years, about ten low-power nuclear reactors operated at SSFL, (including the Sodium Reactor Experiment, the first reactor in the United States to generate electrical power for a commercial grid, and the first commercial power plant in the world to experience a partial core meltdown) in addition to several "critical facilities" that helped develop nuclear science and applications. At least four of the ten nuclear reactors had accidents during their operation. The reactors located on the grounds of SSFL were considered experimental, and therefore had no containment structures.

The site ceased research and development operations in 2006. The years of rocket testing, nuclear reactor testing, and liquid metal research have left the site "significantly contaminated". Environmental cleanup is ongoing. The public who live near the site have strongly urged a thorough cleanup of the site, citing cases of long term illnesses, including cancer cases at rates they claim are higher than normal. Experts have said that there is insufficient evidence to identify an explicit link between cancer rates and radioactive contamination in the area.^[4]

^ ^a ^b Archeological Consultants, Inc.; Weitz Research (March 2009). "Historical resources survey and assessment of the NASA facility at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Simi Valley, California" (PDF). NASA. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
^ "Sage.Park".
^ Sapere and Boeing (May 2005). Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Area IV Historical Site Assessment. p. 2. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
^ Simon, Melissa (13 April 2018). "Protestors want SSFL cleaned up | Simi Valley Acorn". www.simivalleyacorn.com. Simi Valley Acorn. Retrieved 18 April 2018. But there is no definitive proof that the contamination left from decades of nuclear testing is the source of cancers and other health issues. ... Hal Morgenstern, an epidemiology professor at the University of Michigan, conducted several studies between 1988 and 2002 to see if there was a link between chemical or radioactive contamination at the field lab and deaths caused by leukemia, lymphoma and other cancers. Results showed people living within a 2-mile radius were at least 60 percent more likely to be diagnosed with certain cancers than those living 5 miles away, but that doesn't mean the site's contamination is the cause, Morgenstern previously told the Simi Valley Acorn. Despite the data he collected, Morgenstern said, there wasn't enough evidence to identify an explicit link between cancer and field lab contamination. And the results were inconclusive as to whether activities at SSFL specifically affected or will affect cancer incidences, he said.

[Archeological_Consultants,_Inc.-1] Archeological Consultants, Inc.; Weitz Research (March 2009). "Historical resources survey and assessment of the NASA facility at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Simi Valley, California" (PDF). NASA. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2010.

[2] "Sage.Park".

[3] Sapere and Boeing (May 2005). Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Area IV Historical Site Assessment. p. 2. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2010.

[2018death-4] Simon, Melissa (13 April 2018). "Protestors want SSFL cleaned up | Simi Valley Acorn". www.simivalleyacorn.com. Simi Valley Acorn. Retrieved 18 April 2018. But there is no definitive proof that the contamination left from decades of nuclear testing is the source of cancers and other health issues. ... Hal Morgenstern, an epidemiology professor at the University of Michigan, conducted several studies between 1988 and 2002 to see if there was a link between chemical or radioactive contamination at the field lab and deaths caused by leukemia, lymphoma and other cancers. Results showed people living within a 2-mile radius were at least 60 percent more likely to be diagnosed with certain cancers than those living 5 miles away, but that doesn't mean the site's contamination is the cause, Morgenstern previously told the Simi Valley Acorn. Despite the data he collected, Morgenstern said, there wasn't enough evidence to identify an explicit link between cancer and field lab contamination. And the results were inconclusive as to whether activities at SSFL specifically affected or will affect cancer incidences, he said.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]