STATE TO UNVEIL NUCLEAR HEALTH STUDY.Byline: Tony Knight Daily News Staff Writer An unprecedented health study of past and present nuclear workers at the Rocketdyne Division plant in Canoga Park will be released Thursday by the state Department of Health Services Department of Health Services may refer to:
Two public meetings will be conducted in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. by health officials and the UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX scientists who conducted the study to explain it to Simi Valley, Canoga Park and Chatsworth residents who have lived for years in the shadow of Rocketdyne's nuclear research facility in the Simi Hills The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range in Southern California. Geography Simi Hills is located on the western edge of the San Fernando Valley, United States. They run east-west and they extend 26 miles east-west, and 7 miles north-south. . ``The study has been in the works for most of this decade; it's long overdue,'' said Dan Hirsch, president of the anti-nuclear group Bridge the Gap. ``Workers, the nearby community, and the international radiation scientific community eagerly await its public release.'' Officials for Rocketdyne, which was acquired this year by Boeing Co. after being part of Rockwell International Rockwell International was the ultimate incarnation of a series of companies under the sphere of influence of Willard Rockwell, who had made his fortune after the invention and successful launch of a new bearing system for truck axles in 1919. for decades, have steadfastly maintained that their nuclear operations used the best safety practices and that worker health was not adversely affected. Company officials said they were unable to comment on any aspect of the study Monday. The long-awaited study grew out of Daily News reports in May 1989 of a U.S. Department of Energy study that found low levels of radioactive contamination Radioactive contamination is the uncontrolled distribution of radioactive material in a given environment. The amount of radioactive material released in an accident is called the source term. at the division's Santa Susana Field Laboratory. The company conducted nuclear research at the remote Simi Hills site for more than four decades, at one point experiencing the meltdown of a reactor core. The U.S. 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 stepped in and assumed oversight of a $55 million cleanup program at the field laboratory that is nearing completion. The DOE survey and subsequent testing and expanded environmental monitoring has revealed no evidence of a health threat to workers or the public, although slight contamination was discovered on neighboring property. A citizen oversight committee originally called for the study as a way to determine whether any contamination over the years had affected the community. They reasoned that if the study showed workers were fine there was no need to worry about nearby communities. Focusing on the health histories of thousands of Rocketdyne nuclear workers both at the field lab and at two company plants in Canoga Park, the study is expected to become a landmark document on the health effects of nuclear radiation. ``I think it will be an extremely significant study in the scientific literature about radiation risks,'' said Hirsch, a member of the public oversight panel that originally called for the study. ``Its importance will go beyond the problems at this facility,'' Hirsch said. The study has been reviewed by Rocketdyne officials, a scientific overview panel, DOE officials and key members of the citizens panel. All have been sworn to secrecy Sworn To Secrecy: Secrets of War (aka Secrets of War) is the most comprehensive video documentary television series ever produced on the military history and the “secrets of war” of the Twentieth Century. and signed confidentiality agreements until Thursday. Officials will discuss the findings at the Simi Valley Radisson Hotel, 999 Enchanted en·chant tr.v. en·chant·ed, en·chant·ing, en·chants 1. To cast a spell over; bewitch. 2. To attract and delight; entrance. See Synonyms at charm. Way, Simi Valley, at 7 p.m. Thursday and 7 p.m. Friday. Rocketdyne has scheduled meetings for present and past employees at its Canoga Park facility Thursday through Saturday. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion