NUKE SITE CLEANUP STUDY RELEASED.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

The U.S. Energy Department released a proposal Wednesday for the continued cleanup of the nuclear research portion of Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Field Lab, a plan that activists say leaves too much contamination behind.

The draft environmental assessment calls for decontamination to a level that allows a cancer risk of 1 in 3,333, compared with a 1-in-a-million risk factor that activists have been fighting for.

The Energy Department has opened a 30-day public comment period on the plan, with public meetings scheduled later this month.

``We think we are being protective of the public and the environment with our cleanup level and our best management practices,'' said Mike Lopez, the DOE's restoration project manager. ``I feel confident we are being protective.''

The report considers alternatives for cleaning up the 290 acres, where nuclear research was conducted for decades until work was shut down in 1988 and contamination was disclosed.

Boeing, which owns the lab in the hills between Simi Valley and Chatsworth, is under a $148 million Energy Department contract to clean up that part of the facility. Cleanup of chemical contamination is under way elsewhere on the 2,800-acre site.

However, activists who have long pushed for a more comprehensive environmental impact study said the plan announced Wednesday does not go far enough to protect community health.

``I think it's an outrageous breaking of the government's promise to thoroughly clean up this site,'' said anti-nuclear activist Dan Hirsch, a member of the group of community and government representatives monitoring cleanup at the site.

``They have basically decided it is cheaper to have some people in the community die from the mess they've made than to clean it up effectively.''

The proposal calls for removing 9,100 cubic meters - about 670 truckloads - of soil.

An alternate proposal calls for removing almost 50 times that amount - 408,450 cubic meters, or 30,000 truckloads - to get the soil clean enough for the 1-in-a-million cancer risk.

A third alternative called for no further work at the site.

Lopez said the cleanup level meets Energy Department regulations, and that the soil would reach an even cleaner level with department methods.

He also said the agency has pledged to meet the EPA's guidelines, which encourage the 1-in-a-million risk level - but also allow up to the 1-in- 3,333 level.

Cost was not a factor in assessing the alternatives, Lopez said, and he could not estimate the price for this portion of the cleanup.

If the proposed alternative is not chosen, DOE management could still call for the broader environmental impact statement on the site. Also, plans are still under way for a survey of the site by a team from the Environmental Protection Agency.

``This is another step in the process,'' said Tom Pfeifer, a spokesman for Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Oxnard, whose district includes the area.

``It's now out for public comment. I expect the community to vocally give their opinion on it.''

PUBLIC MEETING

Public meetings will be held from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Grand Vista Hotel, 999 Enchanted Way, Simi Valley. Copies of the report are available at some local libraries, by calling [phone] or on the Internet at www.oak.doe.gov/etec-ea.html.

CAPTION(S):

Box:

PUBLIC MEETING (see text)