ROCKETDYNE REPORT SAYS NO RADIATION IN BELL CANYON.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Daily News Staff Writer

A Rocketdyne study of soil in the Bell Canyon neighborhood just south of the firm's Santa Susana Field Lab shows that radiation and chemicals from the lab have not been found in the residential area as some residents had worried.

However, critics questioned the validity of the $300,000 study, released over the weekend to the local homeowners' group.

The study showed that chemicals were found in the dirt at allowable limits, and that two known toxins at the lab - trichloroethylene and ammonia perchlorate - were not detected in the neighborhood dirt.

``The conclusion is Rocketdyne's operations have not impacted the Bell Canyon area, and the Bell Canyon residents should be pleased with what we've found,'' said Inger Hodgson, a spokeswoman for Rocketdyne. ``All of the 35 (contaminants) were found at lower than health-based standards established by the EPA.''

The company pulled 24 soil samples from 24 locations in the neighborhood, including three residential yards, Bell Creek, lab drainage that led to the creek and undeveloped portions of the canyon.

The samples were taken in June by the San Diego-based firm Ogden Environmental, which has been doing work for Rocketdyne. Some state regulators were on hand to observe the process, and took samples at the same locations, including the Environmental Protection Agency which has not yet released its findings.

The study was done at the request of Bell Canyon residents, who were concerned after Rocketdyne found radiation and chemicals had contaminated portions of the lab in the Simi Hills. Of particular concern were TCE, a carcinogen, and ammonia perchlorate, which is believed to cause thyroid problems.

Residents were concerned that the soil in their neighborhood could become contaminated because water from the lab flushes through Bell Creek where children in the neighborhood often play.

More than 100 residents gathered Sunday at the Bell Canyon Homeowners' Association annual meeting to elect officers when the study was released. Those at the meeting said there was cautious optimism among the residents that the company's findings were accurate.

The board of directors would not comment on the report until after its Thursday meeting.

Resident Mary Ellen Waller, who helped lead the call for the study, said she was hopeful government agencies that she worked to include in the process would verify Rocketdyne's results.

``The verbal confirmations I have had at this date are that the test results were as Rocketdyne was portraying them to be,'' said Waller, an attorney with two preschool-aged children. ``I have not seen an actual written report from the state or federal government at this time. I await those results.''

However, members of the group overseeing cleanup at the lab, said they were skeptical the company-funded study was conducted with the strict controls necessary to determine if the soil was contaminated.

``I don't think you can draw valid conclusions from studies taken by the polluter and for the polluter,'' said Joe Lyou, a member of the Santa Susana Field Lab Work Group overseeing cleanup at the site. ``I would love to believe Bell Canyon is not contaminated by Rocketdyne's action. But this study won't answer those questions.''

Lyou said the company should have involved the work group, which is made up of community residents and government agencies overseeing cleanup operations, and that government regulators were only notified at the last minute to observe the process.

Officials from the EPA, which is overseeing portions of the cleanup at the field lab, said they had taken soil samples from the Bell Canyon site alongside Rocketdyne's crew but had not yet analysed them.

Rocketdyne's Hodgson, however, said the company stands by the study, and hopes to conduct more off-site analysis.