UNDER PRESSURE, DOE HALTS FIELD LAB CLEANUP FOR 45 DAYS.Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH Staff Writer Facing increased scrutiny from legislators and state environmental regulators, the federal Department of Energy has announced that it will stop work at the Santa Susana Santa Susana can refer to several places:
The decision to stop for 45 days, made public Thursday, comes nearly a month after a federal judge ordered the department to complete a thorough environmental survey of the site before declaring it safe and releasing it for unrestricted use. Despite the judge's ruling, some activists and state officials have been concerned that the DOE still would demolish de·mol·ish tr.v. de·mol·ished, de·mol·ish·ing, de·mol·ish·es 1. To tear down completely; raze. 2. To do away with completely; put an end to. 3. the last two buildings at the site's old Energy Technology and Engineering Center and dump the potentially contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. debris before conducting the environmental survey. Wednesday, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (or DTSC) is an agency of the government of the state of California. The agency monitors exposure to hazardous, radioactive, and toxic wastes in addition to enforcement of compliance by individual businesses, warned the DOE in a letter that it would be inappropriate for the agency to dismantle dis·man·tle tr.v. dis·man·tled, dis·man·tling, dis·man·tles 1. a. To take apart; disassemble; tear down. b. the last buildings without the environmental study. That letter, plus pressure from federal legislators, prompted the DOE to halt work, said Department of Energy spokesman Bill Taylor. "During this time, we will continue to perform environmental monitoring activities and place operations in a safe and stable configuration while we work with state and federal regulators and evaluate all input on a path forward," the agency said in a statement. Field lab watchdog Dan Hirsch, with the Committee to Bridge the Gap, said he worries what will happen after the 45-day pause. "The Department of Energy is still not promising that it won't shoot first and analyze later," he said. The Energy Technology and Engineering Center is a 90-acre portion of the Santa Susana Field Lab where the government conducted nuclear research and built 10 nuclear reactors, including one that had a partial meltdown meltdown Occurrence in which a huge amount of thermal energy and radiation is released as a result of an uncontrolled chain reaction in a nuclear power reactor. The chain reaction that occurs in the reactor's core must be carefully regulated by control rods, which absorb in 1959. The federal agency has been at odds with neighbors and environmentalists over cleanup of the site, with critics contending that the agency would leave 99 percent of the contaminated soil at the hilltop site between 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. and the Chatsworth. kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com (213) 978-0390 CAPTION(S): box, map Box/Map: "Hot Spot" SOURCE: 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 |
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