ROCKETDYNE OPENS DOORS FOR CLEANUP : PUBLIC TO TOUR SIMI PLANT.

Byline: Christopher Noxon Daily News Staff Writer

Rocketdyne is offering to lead members of the public around its 2,600-acre hilltop field lab used for nuclear and chemical experiments, and more than a dozen people have signed up so far for the tour.

Spokeswoman Lori Circle said Rockwell International Corp., which owns Rocketdyne, is opening the gates of the high-security facility in an attempt to reassure the public about the thoroughness of the $55 million cleanup operation now in its final stages.

``It's important the community feels confident in the work we're doing,'' Circle said. ``This is another way of trying to partner with the community to let them know we do care about their concerns.''

A training program is still in the works, but preliminary plans include more than 20 hours of instruction from health and safety authorities with tours beginning in January.

Rocketdyne has been cleaning radioactive and chemical pollution from the site since 1989, when a routine survey by the U.S. Department of Energy recorded contamination.

Environmental activists and some neighbors said the invitation was a public relations exercise which could easily backfire on Rocketdyne.

``It's clear that the cleanup is superficial and designed to declare dirty areas clean,'' said Dan Hirsch, an anti-nuclear activist and member of a citizen watchdog group charged with overseeing the cleanup. ``With people along, it will be slightly tougher for them to get away with it.''

Rocketdyne made the invitation after being criticized at a meeting of the state Department of Toxic Substance Control. Officials from Rocketdyne agreed with members of the public who argued they should be allowed to observe the collection of soil samples, Circle said.

``We're inviting people up because they asked us,'' Circle said.

Environmental monitoring has revealed no evidence of a health threat to workers or the public, but some who have signed up for the tour believe they risk exposing themselves to contamination.

``I worry about exposure, but I've lived here for 25 years: I figure if I'm going to get contaminated, it's happened already,'' said neighbor Barbara Johnson, who has signed up for the training. ``At this point, it's important for me to know whatever I can. I welcome the opportunity.''

Circle said the public will absolutely not risk their health by participating.

``We do constant monitoring to make sure our workers and neighbors are not at risk,'' she said. ``We wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the health of the participants.''

Hirsch, who has also volunteered for the tour, said he predicts that if there are flaws in the cleanup operation, they will be obvious to outside observers.

``We have found problems every time they have submitted to outside review,'' he said. ``It doesn't take a scientist to notice when things are as wrong as they are.''

While Hirsch said he has no doubt there is still radioactive material at the field lab, he still plans to participate in the tour.

``The dust getting on people's shoes very well may be contaminated,'' he said. ``But this is a courageous act people can do to protect their communities. If people don't do this, every time there's heavy wind or rainstorm, that contamination could move off the property. It's a small risk now to prevent a greater risk later.''

Rocketdyne officials say they are still cleaning up and monitoring 34 hotspots and expect to complete the job by the year 2000. Circle said that outside observation of the cleanup will ease suspicion surrounding the complicated enterprise.

``Rocketdyne is investing significant time and resources to identify and clean up all areas of contamination,'' she said. ``We want people to see how dedicated to this cleanup we are.''