EPA SAYS 76 SITES SHOW CONTAMINATION : OWNERS OF EX-MUNITIONS PLANT DISPUTE STUDY.Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer Disputing an assessment made last week by the property owner, the state Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and said Tuesday that 76 spots still show toxic contamination on the site of a former munitions mu·ni·tion n. War materiel, especially weapons and ammunition. Often used in the plural. tr.v. mu·ni·tioned, mu·ni·tion·ing, mu·ni·tions To supply with munitions. factory slated to become a housing development. Officials with Simi Valley-based Whittaker Corp. said last week that only eight of the 76 sites on the company's land showed traces of red phosphorus, pyrotechnics pyrotechnics (pī'rōtĕk`nĭks, pī'rə–), technology of making and using fireworks. Gunpowder was used in fireworks by the Chinese as early as the 9th cent. , solvents and uranium. But state environmental officials said all 76 sites show contamination, including eight that show ``significant levels of contamination.'' Testing to assess the extent of contamination through water, soil and soil vapor samples will not be complete until March 1997, officials said. Cleanup is not scheduled to start until June 1998. ``There's a lot more work to be done,'' state EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. spokesman Pete Dufour said. ``We can't imagine what their motivation is. For us the important milestone is when the remedial investigation has been completed.'' But James Schultz, the company's director of business development, insisted the remaining 68 sites show little or no contamination of toxic materials. ``The other 68 have moderate to no contamination at all,'' Schultz said. ``Of the 68, 25 have no contamination at all and 43 have very little or limited contamination. We are hoping to have a clean bill of health a certificate from the proper authority that a ship is free from infection. See also: Clean on those in the coming months.'' This fall, Whittaker hopes to begin cleaning three of the eight sites that it charges are not heavily contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. . State environmental officials said the three sites probably will undergo an interim remedial cleanup to remove soil to allow the passage of heavy testing equipment and gain access to other contaminated areas on the site. Whittaker bought the land in 1967. The property, south of Soledad Canyon Road from 1934 to 1967, had been used for the production of explosives. From 1967 to 1987, Whittaker produced igniters, flares, tracers Tracers Refers to investment trusts which are populated by corporate bonds. In October 2001, Morgan Stanley's Tradable Custodial Receipts (Tracers) was launched. Tracers contain a number of coporate bonds and credit default swaps which are selected for liquidity and diversity. , ammunition and other ordnance. In a signed agreement with the state EPA's Department of Toxic Substances Control, Whittaker must clean up the 996-acre parcel, site of a planned 2,900-home project. Cleanup is scheduled for completion in 2001. |
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