RESIDENTS BLAST NUCLEAR CLEANUP PROCESS.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - Emotions flared Wednesday during a meeting of the work group monitoring toxic cleanup at the Santa Susana Field Lab, when activists lashed out at government agencies they said are not doing enough to protect the community.

The exchange erupted during a debate over how much nuclear contamination is being left on buildings being demolished and sent to municipal landfills - before the Environmental Protection Agency has been able to review the cleanup work.

``Those of us in the community desperately want to know this site is being cleaned up to the strictest standards,'' said resident Barbara Johnson, a community representative of the work group.

The U.S. Department of Energy had reported more than half of the buildings in the nuclear research area had been cleared for removal, including some that had been demolished before the EPA could make spot checks of cleanup work last week.

``First time we see a list and we find half of them (buildings) aren't even there anymore,'' said Dan Hirsch, community member of the work group.

However, DOE's Roger Liddle said all those buildings were being cleaned up in accordance with regulations, including those set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that govern the amount of residual contamination.