Perchlorate: Hot and Filthy, Down and Dirty

Below is the latest information regarding Boeing Rocketdyne SSFL Perchlorate and proposal regarding treatment of Santa Susana Field Lab contaminated groundwater to Department of Toxic Substance Control, (DTSC)/Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA), and the Public.
02 June 2003
*Felkins Note: Where and what are the records of perchlorate use at SSFL and duration of same inasmuch as the companies have stated numerous times that they are not responsible for these heavily contaminated water(s) in area? Since the materials were invoiced at time of purchase and subsequently paid for during many years, there must be data regarding its use and purchase over these years.

Perchlorate is a byproduct of spent nuclear fuels and this fact must be investigated regarding perchlorate contamination from Rocketdyne/Boeing Santa Susana Field Laboratory.

Wells May Be Contaminated

Rocket-Fuel Ingredient Found in Drinking-Water Source

By Kerry Cavanaugh

Daily News Staff Writer

Thursday, July 28, 2005 - SIMI VALLEY -- Traces of perchlorate have been detected for the first time in the city's two drinking-water wells, near previous hits of the rocket fuel ingredient, officials said Thursday.

Information about the test results was reported Wednesday night at a meeting of the Santa Susana Field Lab Working Group and fueled speculation that the rocket-fuel ingredient leaked from the nearby Santa Susana Field Lab.

Community activists expressed frustration that they hadn't been told earlier.

"We've been told for years that there is no perchlorate showing up in drinking-water wells," said Dan Hirsch of the Committee to Bridge the Gap. "Before, the results created a possibility that the perchlorate contamination was spotty.

"Now that it's been found in the drinking-water wells, it confirms that the contamination is widespread."

The perchlorate levels were below the allowed limit of 6 parts per billion. The groundwater is diluted with imported water to ensure that it is safe to drink.

The Boeing Co., which owns the Rocketdyne field lab, has said there is little evidence showing that perchlorate contamination has spread from the rocket manufacturing and testing site. Company officials maintain that the bedrock beneath the site acts like a sponge and holds pollutants on the hill.

But water-quality officials said they will not draw any conclusions about where the perchlorate may have come from and whether the field lab could be a potential source.

Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board Assistant Executive Officer David Bacharowski said his agency is keeping an eye on incoming perchlorate results, but he doesn't anticipate further action as long as the levels stay low.

"We don't have the money to go out and do an investigation of the Valley, and these low levels don't warrant an investigation at this time."

Southern California Water Co. officials first discovered the perchlorate last August when they switched to a new water-quality laboratory that was able to detect perchlorate at extremely low levels.

The chemical has been found every quarter since then at levels ranging from 1 ppb to 3.3 ppb -- below the official California detection limit.

"We don't know exactly what it means or where it's coming from," said Dawn White, water-quality manager with the SoCal Water Co. "We're not making any claims as to what it means at this point.

"We will continue to do this monitoring and share this information with regulators."

Rocket-Fuel Chemical Found in Breast Milk
Perchlorate is found in almost all samples tested, a study finds, raising concerns about the substance's effect on the thyroid and brain.

By Marla Cone
Times Staff Writer
February 23, 2005

Scientists on Tuesday reported that perchlorate, a toxic component of rocket fuel, was contaminating virtually all samples of women's breast milk and its levels were found to be, on average, five times greater than in cow's milk.

The contaminant, which originates mostly at defense industry plants, previously had been detected in various food and water supplies around the country. But the study by Texas Tech University's Institute of Environmental and Human Health was the first to investigate breast milk.

The findings concern health experts because infants and fetuses are the most vulnerable to the thyroid-impairing effects of the chemical.

Breast milk from 36 women in 18 states, including California, was sampled, and all contained traces of perchlorate.

Perchlorate blocks the nutrient iodide and inhibits thyroid hormones, which are necessary for brain development and cellular growth of a fetus or infant. A baby with impaired thyroid development may have neurological defects that result in lower IQ or learning disabilities.

The researchers recommended that pregnant and nursing women block the effects of perchlorate by taking iodine supplements as a precaution.

At the levels they found in breast milk, the scientists reported that 1-month-old infants would take in enough perchlorate to exceed a safe level, called a reference dose, that was established last month by a panel of the National Academy of Sciences.

"It is obvious that the NAS safe dose � will be exceeded for the majority of infants," the report published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology says. Some infants would ingest so much that they would exceed levels that altered the brain structure of animals in laboratory tests.

The findings come as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is developing an enforceable limit on the amount of perchlorate in drinking water based on the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences panel. Currently there is no national standard.

"This is not just another study," said Renee Sharp, a senior analyst at the Environmental Working Group, which advocated a strict national standard. "It ends the questions about whether women are passing along perchlorate to their kids through breast milk, and the sky-high levels the scientists found put more than half the kids over the safe levels the NAS now recommends."

Environmentalists have urged the EPA to set its standard based on the body weight and perchlorate intake of an infant rather than an adult. Toxicologists said that would probably mean a standard of a few parts per billion. Pentagon officials have said that would shut down many water systems across the country and cost the military and its contractors billions of dollars in cleanup costs. They have instead lobbied for a standard of about 200 parts per billion based on thyroid studies of adults.

The new findings "will practically force EPA officials to write a drinking water standard that protects infants � not just healthy adults," Sharp said.

California has set its own public health goal of 6 parts per billion but it is not an enforceable limit.

The Texas Tech researchers, led by Andrea Kirk, reported that the perchlorate in breast milk was not linked to the water the mothers drank. Instead, the main source was probably food, which apparently was tainted by irrigation water.

The finding that perchlorate is pervasive in breast milk and reaches high levels is somewhat of a surprise to toxicologists, because, unlike many other industrial chemicals, it does not build up in tissues over time.

Instead, it appears that the amount passed on to the infant in breast milk is determined by what the mother has just eaten.

Perchlorate levels are particularly high in the lower Colorado River, which supplies irrigation water to almost 2 million acres of cropland. The river, government officials believe, has been tainted by leaks from a Kerr-McGee plant near Lake Mead.

The highest perchlorate levels, one reaching 92 parts per billion, were found in the breast milk of two women from New Jersey. The average was 10.5 parts per billion, compared to 2 parts per billion in cow's milk. Forty-six of 47 samples of dairy milk purchased in 11 states, including California, contained perchlorate.

Sujatha Jahagirdar, clean-water advocate at Environment California, an advocacy group, said it was "absolutely appalling" that a component of rocket fuel was found in mother's milk.
**For the Record: Perchlorate contamination � An article in Wednesday's Section A about chemical contamination of breast milk said levels of perchlorate, a toxic component of rocket fuel, are particularly high in the lower Colorado River. The levels used to be high but are now lower because a remediation system has been cleaning contaminated ground water at a now-defunct Kerr-McGee chemical plant.**

Field Lab Must Add 3 Water Test Wells

Boeing to Comply with State Order

By Teresa Rochester
Ventura County Star
24 November, 2004

Three more wells will be constructed to monitor the groundwater at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory near Simi Valley.

The wells are part of a battery of requirements outlined in two permits issued by the state's Department of Toxic Substances Control to Boeing Co., which owns the Rocketdyne test site.

The post-closure permits were issued for three hazardous waste facilities at the lab, which are now closed. Despite the area closures and inactivity, contamination exists and needs to be removed, officials said.

"What it means is Boeing needs to clean it up," DTSC spokeswoman Jeanne Garcia said. "They can't walk away from it."

The permits also require Boeing officials to change what they are testing for, based on the site's conditions. The company will also have to do more sampling and testing to comply with state laws.

John Mitche ll, a Boeing spokesman, said his company will meet with DTSC to determine the location of the wells.

Chemical and radioactive contamination has been discovered on the site operated by Rocketdyne Power and Propulsion, a Boeing subsidiary.

DTSC is responsible for overseeing the cleanup of chemical contamination, including perchlorate. Exposure to perchlorate, a solvent used in rocket testing for more than 40 years on the site until the 1980s, is linked to thyroid problems and mental retardation in infants.

The chemical has been detected in water samples in Simi Valley, fueling suspicion that the contamination has spread from the laboratory's hilltop location south of town.

Boeing officials have denied that accusation and DTSC officials have yet to prove it.



Too Much Perchlorate in Milk, Report Says

Toxins Detected in Wells Near Lab [SSFL]
Boeing: Perchlorate not from rocket site

By Kerry Cavanaugh
Daily News Staff Writer
Friday, March 19, 2004

Officials said Friday that they have found more perchlorate in the groundwater at the Santa Susana Field Lab, but are at least a month away from tests that will determine whether the rocket fuel contamination found nearby is coming from the hilltop lab.

Boeing Co., which owns the lab, is required to drill monitoring wells around the lab and take samples to see whether perchlorate has moved off-site. The company maintains that the chemical isn't leaving its property because it is soaked up and trapped in the porous bedrock beneath the surface, but regulators say Boeing has yet to prove that theory.

"Really, the question is: How much of it is being held up in the rock and how much is getting through," said Raymond Leclerc, a senior hazardous-substances engineer with the state Department of Toxic Substances Control.

Meanwhile, Boeing is preparing to clean up soil from Happy Valley, north of the community of Bell Canyon, where perchlorate levels have reached 3,400 parts per billion, well above the public health goal for water of 6 ppb.

The company has already shipped 1,500 cubic yards contaminated with metals to disposal sites, and plans to use bacteria to consume the perchlorate in 20,000 cubic yards of soil.

Watchdogs have raised concerns that bioremediation might not work on soil piles as large as the one at Santa Susana and could end up spreading contamination to the bedrock.

That bioremediation project has to be approved by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.

DTSC officials will update the public on the perchlorate investigation and cleanup at the lab Wednesday during a meeting of the Working Group.

The Working Group will also hear more about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's hazard-ranking system, which is used to list contaminated properties as Superfund sites that require EPA oversight.

State Plans to Regulate Perchlorate
*California to be First State to Regulate Perchlorate Safe Drinking Water Levels
In a rebuff to the Pentagon, California weighs limits on the pollutant. Some call the pending guidelines lax.

By Miguel Bustillo
Times Staff Writer
March 11, 2004

Despite opposition from the Pentagon, the Schwarzenegger administration is planning to issue safety guidelines Friday for ammonium perchlorate, a toxic ingredient of rocket fuel, munitions and fireworks that has tainted drinking water supplies in 29 states.

The pending guidelines would make California the first state in the nation to regulate perchlorate. The federal government has yet to act.

Environmentalists, however, have criticized California's pending standards as being too lenient.

Studies of laboratory rats have shown that even tiny doses of perchlorate can affect the thyroid's production of hormones that are critical to early childhood development, which suggests that the pollutant could be particularly threatening to pregnant women and young children. However, the level at which perchlorate poses a danger to human beings remains unclear.

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, which conducts research into potentially harmful pollutants, has called for a health goal of 6 parts per billion for perchlorate, according to several officials in the California Environmental Protection Agency.

That figure � equivalent to roughly six drops of water in a typical home swimming pool � would become the basis for a final regulation by the California Department of Health Services limiting how much of the chemical can remain in drinking water supplies.

Military contractors and the Pentagon, whose Cold War-era activities are responsible for most of the perchlorate pollution, have heavily lobbied the Schwarzenegger administration to delay setting a standard. Cleaning it up could cost them billions.

Environmental groups are also unhappy, contending that the governor who touted his green credentials during last year's recall campaign appears to have watered down the health goal at the last minute.

"It sure looks like bending in the direction of industry, and that is not what we were promised," said Bill Magavern, a Sacramento lobbyist for the Sierra Club.

Perchlorate, which has been used to power missiles and the booster rockets that help propel the space shuttle, has become the focus of a nationwide controversy. It is unregulated, though California has been recommending that water agencies shut down wells that contain perchlorate at 40 ppb or higher.

The entire lower Colorado River, which supplies water to more than 15 million people in the Southwest, including Southern California, is tinged with perchlorate that is leaking out of a former rocket fuel factory in Nevada.

Dozens of water wells in California have also become contaminated, mostly near San Jose, Sacramento, the San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire.

Perchlorate has also been discovered in lettuce and milk, suggesting that it is in crops and livestock that receive contaminated water. Most of the nation's winter vegetables are grown in California and Arizona with Colorado River water.

As a result, California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment announced this month that it will consider whether vegetables and other supermarket products containing perchlorate must carry warning labels under Proposition 65, a voter-approved state law that requires public notice of pollutants that are believed to cause cancer or developmental problems in children.

"Can you imagine putting a label on these products? I think that works against public health," said Hank Giclas, vice president of the Western Growers Assn., which represents the farmers who grow, pack and ship nearly half of the nation's fresh fruit, nuts and vegetables. "These are foods that every health expert says we should be eating more of, and we are worried that people could get frightened away from eating them."

Until the 1960s, perchlorate was used by doctors to treat Graves' disease, a disorder that caused an overproduction of thyroid hormones, so its effect on the thyroid gland is well known. However, whether perchlorate causes health problems in the relatively low levels found in tainted water supplies remains the subject of intense debate.

Government scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at one point stated that perchlorate could be harmful in drinking water levels as low as 1 ppb.

That alarmed military contractors and the U.S. Defense Department, which contends that harmful effects have only been proved at 200 ppb. They persuaded the White House to postpone a pending federal perchlorate regulation until the National Academy of Sciences could conduct an independent review of the federal agency's research.

The defense industry was hoping for a similar delay in California, where officials had announced that they were considering a health goal of 2 to 6 ppb for perchlorate. To plead its case, the industry hired James Strock, former head of the California EPA under Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, and an advisor to the Schwarzenegger administration during its transition to power after the recall.

"It's not a matter of which administration we have. I think any administration should want to take a look at what the National Academy of Sciences, a highly respected and neutral organization, has to say about this," Strock said. "It just makes eminent sense."

Two other influential groups affected by the perchlorate problem � farmers and water suppliers � joined the lobbying campaign in favor of a delay, arguing that the state, like the federal government, should wait until an impartial analysis is performed.

But Schwarzenegger administration officials rejected their pleas, arguing that the state could always reconsider later if the National Academy's review showed that government scientists were wrong about the dangers of perchlorate.

"Even though this should not be our problem, it has become our problem," said Krista Clark, a lobbyist with the Assn. of California Water Agencies, which is concerned that local waterworks will have to pay much of the bill for a perchlorate cleanup.

"If the [National Academy of Sciences] report confirms 6 ppb is reasonable, good, we are on our way to a good regulation. But if the report points to flaws in the science, we're going to have a problem."

Despite the state's decision to stand firm, environmental groups have expressed disappointment with the governor's plan.

Though 6 ppb was still within the range state scientists targeted from the outset, the Cal/EPA under former Gov. Gray Davis had been moving forward with plans to set the goal at 4 ppb, said some water quality watchdogs familiar with the process.

Schwarzenegger officials, they argued, have given ground � and the seemingly minuscule difference could possibly save polluters billions while exposing more state residents to small but potentially harmful doses of perchlorate.

"There are a lot of drinking water sources in California between that 2 ppb and 6 ppb, so where it gets set in that range is extremely important. That's going to have a major effect on what is triggered to be cleaned up," said Renee Sharp, a senior analyst with the activist organization Environmental Working Group.

Sharp noted that the Colorado River is 5 to 8 ppb perchlorate at the point where its water is diverted to Southern California.

As evidence that perchlorate may have harmful effects even in small doses, Sharp cited a study that found newborn children in Yuma, an area dependent on Colorado River water, had levels of a thyroid-stimulating hormone different from babies born 300 miles away in Flagstaff, which gets its water elsewhere. The study by the Arizona Department of Health Services did not prove that perchlorate caused the difference.

California officials are trying to persuade agribusiness interests and others to support the planned regulation, and form a coalition to lobby Congress to help finance a nationwide cleanup.

Tighter [*Perchlorate] Water Rules Make Factions Clash

By Harrison Sheppard
Daily News Sacramento Bureau
Wednesday, 28 January, 2004

Environmentalists and corporate interests clashed Wednesday at a hearing to determine whether the state should immediately tighten its regulations for perchlorate contamination in drinking water.

Speaking before the Senate Select Committee on Perchlorate Contamination, environmentalists urged the state to immediately adopt a tough standard for the chemical, which is an ingredient of rocket fuel that can cause thyroid problems. It can be found in groundwater in Northern Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire.

Industry representatives said the state should wait at least a few months while the National Academy of Sciences completes a national study.

"Perchlorate poses an enormous risk of water contamination throughout the state," said Sujatha Jahagirdar, an official with the group Environment California. "It threatens California's health, water supply and economy."

Efforts to delay the change are a "stalling tactic," she added, and suggest that California agencies are incapable of performing their own research.

Craig Moyer, an industry attorney with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, said a delay of a few months will be more valuable to the state in the long term, to ensure that the standards are in line with national studies.

"I think the time to get the science right is now," Moyer said.

Moyer counts the Goodrich Corp. among his clients, although he said he was not appearing specifically on the company's behalf. That company has been accused of causing perchlorate contamination in the Inland Valley.

He added that delaying only a few months to make sure it is right "doesn't sound like procrastination."

Replied the committee's chairwoman, Sen. Nell Soto, D-Ontario: "One day is procrastination to me."

Previous lawsuits demanding more review of California's studies have already delayed implementation of a new standard, committee officials noted.

Perchlorate, which is found primarily in rocket fuel, is particularly dangerous to infants and pregnant women in higher concentrations, according to health experts. It can interfere with the absorption of iodine into the thyroid gland, inhibiting mental and physical development. Perchlorate contamination, which has been subject to stronger scrutiny in the last six years, can be found throughout the state, including a site near the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in the hills above Chatsworth.

Public health experts disagree on the levels which are safe for human health, but various states have set levels ranging from 1 part per billion in Massachusetts and New Mexico to 18 ppb in Nevada, where a source of perchlorate contamination of the Colorado River originates. California currently has a tentative and unofficial standard of 4 ppb, but state agencies are considering to change it to 2 ppb. The federal government is still studying whether to set a national standard.

California has 426 perchlorate-contaminated water sources, including 127 in Los Angeles County, according to the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization.

Farmers are also concerned about perchlorate contamination because it can be present in the water they use to irrigate crops and accumulate in higher concentrations than that in the water itself. But growers are also concerned that California may set standards that are so high that it would create a perception that goods grown in California are unsafe because a higher percentage would fail to meet that higher standard, according to Hank Giclas, an official with the Western Growers Association.

Hannah-Beth Jackson's Bill To Prevent Perchlorate Contamination Of Water Supply Passes With Bipartisan Support

New [*Runkle Ranch] Perchlorate Discovery Reported
*Runkle Ranch Find Adds to Evidence
By Roberta Freeman Ventura County Star Staffwriter
December 18, 2003

High levels of perchlorate have been discovered in silt and groundwater at Runkle Ranch, a proposed development in southern Simi Valley, fueling persistent questions that contamination at Rocketdyne might be migrating from the hilltop to the valley floor.

Samples collected Jan. 8 during an environmental review of a 550-acre portion of the 1,600-acre site, required for development approval, indicated levels of 50 and 60 parts per billion in two of four samples collected at depths of 37 feet and 56 feet, respectively.

In May and June, perchlorate was also discovered in wells at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute next to Runkle Canyon. The finding was considered significant because of its location between the Boeing Rocketdyne Santa Susana Field Lab and the Simi Valley floor.

Boeing officials have consistently denied that contamination has migrated from their site into surrounding communities.

But the chairman of the Rocketdyne cleanup oversight committee believes the Runkle Canyon discovery is mounting evidence that contamination is leaving the site through multiple pathways -- groundwater migration, surface water movement, seeps or illegal dumping. Perchlorate in groundwater at the Field Lab is found in levels as high as 1,600 ppb.

"It would appear that there are now more dots connecting the contamination at Rocketdyne and the perchlorate found in Simi," Dan Hirsch, chairman of the Santa Susana Field Lab Workgroup, wrote in a letter to the Regional Water Quality Control Board on Wednesday.

Peter Kiesecker, CEO of GreenPark Management LLC, owner of the property, said he was aware of the perchlorate but stressed the site would be safe for future development. Drinking water will be delivered from city sources, he said, and groundwater will not be used for irrigation.

"We are safe on this issue," Kiesecker said. "Residential development poses no health risk."

However, the environmental report acknowledges the field lab, one-half mile southeast of the site, as the "only identified source of potential environmental concern."

Kiesecker plans to release the environmental report for public review within the next week or two and will hold public meetings to discuss its findings in February.

Hirsch agrees with developers that building on the site will be safe provided that future residents do not come in direct contact with the chemical in drinking water. Perchlorate lurks in groundwater around the city in levels as high as 20 ppb, but city drinking water is safe and imported from other parts of the state.

"The issue isn't that he shouldn't build on the site," Hirsch said about the development. "The issue is that perchlorate shouldn't be there in the first place and shows it's going through his site into the Simi Valley floor."

Boeing officials said Wednesday that they were only just learning about the report and needed to examine the data before commenting further. There has been some dispute among local and state regulating agencies about methods of sampling, since samples of water turned up negative for perchlorate at Brandeis-Bardin after the initial findings.

"We have been seeing a lot of false positives lately," said Boeing spokesman Dan Beck. "We would need to see the data."

Testing at Brandeis-Bardin is allegedly ongoing, but neither Boeing nor any agency involved, including the water quality board, could say how often testing is being done or what the results have been.

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Toxic Substances Control said the perchlorate at Runkle Canyon was "new news" to the agency. Dennis Dickerson, executive director of the Regional water quality board, said he was only just learning of the finding also.

Simi Valley Assistant City Manager Laura Magelnicki said the city wanted to verify the data before commenting further. "We want to be sure the information being gathered is, in fact, accurate," Magelnicki said. "The next question would have to be what the public health threats are."

Santa Susana Field Lab May Never be Clean Says DTSC
State Toxics Chief Edwin Lowry Assures Audience Work is Thorough
By Roberta Freeman
Ventura County Star
July 17, 2003

The chemical contamination at the Rocketdyne Santa Susana Field Lab will take years to clean, a top state official said, and the site may never be suitable for housing or industry.

Ed Lowry, director of the state Department of Toxic Substances and Control, addressed people from communities in Los Angeles and Ventura counties adjacent to Rocketdyne at Valley View Junior High School in Simi Valley on Tuesday.

Lowry said he called the meeting to assure residents and officials that while the cleaning of the chemical and radioactive contamination may be going slowly, his department's work is thorough. Public meetings have been called for the past 13 years to discuss the work and critics have become impatient, fearing contamination is migrating to nearby communities in the Simi hills.

"I am ultimately responsible for every decision in the department," Lowry said, assuring the audience of more than 100 that testing and monitoring of contamination is a slow, laborious process. The rugged geology and fractured rock is making the work difficult, Lowry said, and removing all the contamination might ultimately be impossible. If that is the case, he said, Plan B is to contain what contamination there is and try to stop it from migrating off the site.

But such decisions will likely be postponed until 2006, when an environmental impact review of the site is scheduled to be completed.

Meanwhile, investigation continues to determine if Rocketdyne is the source of perchlorate contamination in wells at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute. The DTSC issued a letter to Boeing in June ordering the company to submit plans for a geological survey to determine if and how perchlorate is migrating from the site, and how to clean up areas at the lab containing large concentrations of perchlorate.

Simi Valley City Councilman Steve Sojka spoke at the meeting to register some concerns for the record. While the city's drinking water is not affected, high levels of perchlorate have been detected in wells around town as well as ground water that percolates to the surface in neighborhoods that have been plagued for years with a high water table.

Sojka asked that the source of the contamination be determined, advice given on what the city should do and "objective and reliable information on the health risks this poses."

Lowry defined the heath effects of perchlorate as "numerous, primarily to the thyroid gland." Currently, the state standard for perchlorate in drinking water is 4 parts per billion. The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday that it would not be setting a standard for perchlorate or other chemicals in drinking water, deferring the decision to individual states. Perchlorate has been linked to thyroid disorders, such as tumors and cancer and mental retardation in infants.

Lowry said the dispute was ongoing with the defense industry , which is lobbying for levels of perchlorate higher than 4 ppb, and expected the state Department of Health Services to make a decision by January.

Barbara Johnson of Santa Susana Knolls, a member of the Santa Susana Field Lab Workgroup that has been monitoring the lab for well over a decade, was hopeful Lowry's visit might help speed up efforts and improve communication between the agency and the public.

"Even after being disappointed so many times, we still have hope," Johnson said.

Boeing Must Find Source of Contaminant
Agency Issues the Order After Discovering Rocket Fuel Ingredient in a Well Near Rocketdyne Lab.
The Company Denies Responsibility.
By Amanda Covarrubias
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer Copyright 2003 Los Angeles Times
June 26, 2003
A state regulatory agency has detected unsafe levels of a contaminant used in rocket fuel in a well about a mile from Boeing's Rocketdyne testing site in the Santa Susana Mountains, officials said Wednesday.

Because of the recent discovery of perchlorate downhill from the mountaintop laboratory, Boeing has been ordered to conduct extensive water and soil tests at the well to determine the contamination's source, said Gerard Abrams, geologist and project director for the Department of Toxic Substances Control.

"We think it's essential to help us understand how perchlorate arrived at this well," Abrams said. "It will help us to understand what happened down in Simi Valley."

The state agency has given the aerospace giant an Aug. 18 deadline to come up with a plan to determine if the contamination on property owned by the Brandeis-Bardin Institute came from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Abrams said Wednesday in a briefing at the agency's offices in Glendale.

The action is significant because Boeing has argued for years that it is not the cause of off-site contamination. If Rocketdyne is found to be the source, Boeing could be liable for millions of dollars in cleanup costs � on top of millions it is already spending to rid the former nuclear research and rocket-testing laboratory of toxic chemicals.

Boeing spokeswoman Blythe Jameson said company officials were surprised by the action, especially since recent tests of wells located between the lab and Brandeis came up negative for perchlorate. What's more, a test of the Brandeis well a year ago also was negative, she said.

"We'll be looking at all the data carefully," Jameson said. "We are responsible neighbors and we will take whatever steps are necessary to alleviate their concerns about this latest finding."

The state agency's announcement is the latest development in an ongoing search for the source of perchlorate contamination in Simi Valley, where the chemical has been found at unsafe levels in wells scattered throughout the city. So far, the findings have confounded scientists because they have not pointed to any particular source or path, Abrams said.

"The recent detection of perchlorate suggests that the contamination from SSFL may have migrated off-site to the Brandeis-Bardin property," the agency wrote in its order Monday. "The presence of other or contributing sources of perchlorate, beyond those identified at SSFL, is unlikely."

Although the federal Environmental Protection Agency has established that perchlorate in drinking water in any amount higher than 1 part per billion is unsafe for human consumption, California health officials have set a safety standard of 4 parts per billion.

One part per billion is roughly equivalent to one drop of water in a home swimming pool, according to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Perchlorate has been found in concentrations as high as 1,600 ppb at the field lab, specifically in an area known as Happy Valley, where perchlorate was stored for rocket-making. Happy Valley is two miles from the Brandeis well.

The amount of perchlorate found at the well was measured at 140 ppb and 150 ppb on May 30. A second test conducted June 11 showed perchlorate levels of 39 ppb and 36 ppb, Abrams said.

Horses and other wildlife drink from the well on the bucolic, 3,000-acre property that houses a Jewish studies center where adults and children participate in educational programs. The well is fenced off in a remote area, said Ivan Wolkind, director of operations for the institute.

"Luckily, that well is never used," Wolkind said Wednesday. "It's just a pipe that runs straight into the ground and releases a drop of water about every four seconds. It's like a leaky faucet."

The state agency was first alerted to perchlorate contamination at the well by the Ventura County Public Health Services which conducted a routine test Feb. 21 that measured a level of 82 ppb.

Although Simi Valley drinking water comes from Northern California, the imported water is mixed with water from two wells in the city. No perchlorate has been detected in those two wells, said David Bacharowski, assistant executive officer for the California Regional Water Quality Control Board.

The Brandeis well is about three miles from the mixing wells.

Tests of samples taken at three other wells on the Brandeis property revealed perchlorate levels below 3 ppb, Abrams said. All four wells tested negative for other types of toxic substances.

Perchlorate, a salt used as an oxidizer in highway flares and air bags as well as in missiles and other munitions, can interfere with thyroid function. It can affect early brain development and cause tumors. State and federal health officials now believe that, even in tiny amounts, the chemical may cause health problems, especially among pregnant women and young children.

In Simi Valley, perchlorate also was found for the first time in water seeping from the ground on two residential streets three to four miles from Rocketdyne, Abrams said. They showed a concentration of 4.1 ppb in water samples taken from Caballero Street and 4.8 ppb from Wallace Street.

"It's tough when you get the low concentrations," Bacharowski said. "It's hard to know what it actually means. It's not clear what the source is."

As for the Boeing investigation, Abrams said the company will be required to install new wells and retrofit existing wells to help determine the perchlorate migration pattern.

Boeing also will have to conduct such activities as geologic mapping, aerial photography, a review of hydrology data, well monitoring and aquifer testing.

The company also will likely be required to clean up the perchlorate that is already in the well or at least contain it, he said.
Perchlorate Probe Ordered
State Tells Boeing to Find Prime Source of Pollution in Nearby Water Wells
By Dana Bartholomew Los Angeles Daily News Staff Writer Copyright 2003 LA Daily News
25 June 2003

State regulators said Wednesday they have ordered Boeing Co. to investigate whether the chemical perchlorate, discovered at unsafe levels north of its Rocketdyne test site, originated at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory.

The state Department of Toxic Substances Control announced that it and other agencies detected unsafe levels of the contaminant at a site known as Bathtub Well 1 on Brandeis-Bardin Institute land, less than a mile north of the rocket and nuclear test site.

The find marks the first perchlorate discovered between the hilltop lab and previously identified perchlorate contamination on the Simi Valley floor.

"We think there may be an association of perchlorate with the Santa Susana Field Laboratory," said Gerard Abrams, the senior DTSC geologist charged with overseeing cleanup of the lab.

"It's been moving off-site toward Simi Valley where perchlorate has been detected."

On Monday, the DTSC directed Boeing, the parent company of Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power, to submit a plan by Aug. 18 for investigating the potential plume via new monitoring wells and a detailed geologic assessment.

The agency, working in conjunction with the state Regional Water Quality Control Board, also ordered Boeing to conduct quarterly tests of soil and groundwater wells, seeps and springs adjacent to its lab for perchlorate and other chemicals.

Boeing officials have long maintained that no perchlorate has migrated off its Cold War test lab site in the hills between Simi Valley and Chatsworth. The bedrock is too impervious, they have said.

"It's a little confusing," said Rocketdyne spokeswoman Blythe Jameson. "There are several (well) sample points between our site and this well, and they have been clean in the past.

"In our minds, it raises more questions than it answers."

Perchlorate -- a chemical linked to thyroid dysfunction -- previously had been found at levels on Rocketdyne property at levels as high as 1,600 parts per billion, or 400 times what is considered safe, officials said.

Then, last December, the DTSC found perchlorate at four times the accepted level of 4 ppb in 18 shallow wells in southwestern Simi Valley, between three and four miles from the Bathtub well.

On Feb. 21, the Ventura County Public Works Agency discovered perchlorate in the Bathtub well at 82 ppb. And on May 30, DTSC geologists collected two Bathtub samples that tested at 140 ppb and 150 ppb.

However, no perchlorate had been found to have contaminated drinking water at Brandeis-Bardin -- a Jewish cultural and educational facility -- or Simi Valley.

"Finding the pathway into that well is very important," said Richard McJunkin, a senior DTSC hydrogeologist who conducted the tests. "We'll start there and work backward."

A Brandeis-Bardin Institute official said its well, located 4,700 feet from the lab, is not used to water its livestock and horses and has been closed to campers.

"The good news is we've never used that well for anything -- a pipe going into a tub with one drip every 2 to 3 minutes," said Ivan Wolkind, chief operating officer for the institute. "Thank God, it's isolated."

Rocketdyne watchdogs who blame the rocket engine manufacturer for off-site perchlorate pollution said they were not surprised by the discovery.

"This essentially connects the dots. ... Now we have what amounts to a smoking gun," said Dan Hirsch, head of the Committee to Bridge the Gap. "Perchlorate on the Simi Valley floor comes from Rocketdyne -- there is no other known source of perchlorate in the area."

Ali Tabidian, a hydrogeologist at California State University, Northridge, concurred.

Tabidian speculated that groundwater feeds the Bathtub well, while the perchlorate found near Simi Valley comes from rainwater runoff from the lab.

"I am not surprised at all," he said. "I would expect perchlorate and other chemicals to pop up in water samples around the perimeter of the lab."
Dana Bartholomew, (818) 713-3730 [email protected]

Perchlorate Found in Simi Well
Boeing Told to Make New Tests at Jewish Institute
By Roberta Freeman, [email protected]
June 26, 2003 Copyright 2003 Ventura County Star

State officials have ordered the Boeing Co. to determine if perchlorate from the north side of the Santa Susana Field Lab has contaminated wells at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute nearly a mile away.

Officials with the State Department of Toxic Substances and Control and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board also announced in a press briefing Wednesday that perchlorate has been detected in samples taken from the surface water at two of six sites in a Simi Valley neighborhood that for years has been plagued by a high water table.

The discovery at Brandeis-Bardin, a Jewish cultural enclave, is significant, officials said, because of the distance from Rocketdyne.

"This investigation is essential to discover where the perchlorate in Simi Valley came from and how it got there," said Gerard Abrams, a DTSC scientist.

On May 30, DTSC officials took two samples of water from a 300-foot well at Brandeis-Bardin, noted as Bathtub Well No. 1, which indicated a level of 140 parts per billion and 150 ppb respectively. Samples from the same well on June 11 showed levels of 39 ppb and 36 ppb respectively. The state action level for perchlorate in drinking water is 4 ppb. Officials could give no reason for the fluctuation and explained that is why more than one sample is often taken from the same site.

Drinking water in Simi Valley is not affected by perchlorate.

Boeing has until Aug. 18 to submit two plans: One is for a geological survey to determine if and how perchlorate is migrating from the site. The other is to determine how to clean areas at the lab containing large concentrations of perchlorate.

Rocketdyne officials have maintained since perchlorate was discovered in groundwater in 1999 that it is not emanating from the lab.

"We are responsible neighbors," said Boeing spokeswoman Blythe Jameson. "We will take the appropriate steps to address any concerns that this new data presents."

Brandeis-Bardin has been ordered by the regional water board to submit a complete history of the 3,000-acre site to determine if the release of hazardous materials at the site could have contaminated the groundwater. Ivan Wolkind, director of operations at Brandeis-Bardin, said it was too early in the investigation to comment on the source of the contamination.

"We are working very openly with the agencies," Wolkind said. He said the contaminated wells were in an area with no access by the public or livestock and were not used for drinking water.

Additionally, DTSC and regional water board officials reported that six surface water samples were taken at the request of city officials where the groundwater seeps along streets, sidewalks, driveways and lawns. Samples were taken from Wallace and Caballero streets and Waltham Road.

A sample from Wallace Street indicated a level of 4.1 ppb, one at Caballero Street indicated 4.8 ppb, and Waltham Road showed no detectable levels, officials said. Officials from the DTSC say the contamination levels pose no significant health hazards.

However, Jonathan Parfrey, executive director of Physicians for Social Responsibility, issued a warning for pregnant women in particular who might come in contact with the contaminated groundwater.

"It would be unscientific for me to say definitively, but it is clear it poses a threat, without a doubt," Parfrey said.

Perchlorate has been linked to mental retardation in infants, thyroid disorders and cancer. Parfrey also noted recent findings of perchlorate in leaf lettuce irrigated with perchlorate-tainted water, which he also urged pregnant women to avoid.

Regional water board officials said the next step for testing in Simi Valley will be a sampling of six of the 19 wells that previously tested positive for perchlorate to determine if the levels have changed. The sampling will take place in July.

Public Comment Period Regarding Perchlorate Ion Exchange Resin Vessels Treatment: 03 June through 04 August, 2003.
Boeing Temporary Authorization Request (TAR) SSFL. EPA # CAD093365435 Open House 02 July 2003, 7:00 p.m. at the Boeing Employee Fitness and Recreation Center, 8500 Fallbrook Avenue, West Hills, CA, 91304. The public is asked to send comments to Stephen Baxter, P.E., Department of Toxic Substances Control, 1011 North Grandview Avenue, Glendale, California, 91201 during this period. Boeing has submitted a request to the CA DTSC to modify two hazardous waste facility post-closure permits: Permit # PC-94/95-3-02 (EPA ID # CAD093365435) for Areas I and III, and Permit # PC-94/95-3-03 (EPA ID # CA 1800090010) for Area II of the SSFL. Rocketdyne has submitted a temporary authorization request (TAR) to conduct a groundwater pumping test in the northeastern portion of the SSFL. Groundwater will be pumped out of one well, Corehole-1 , to observe the effect on water level at nearby wells. Groundwater pumped from the well will be treated using the existing groundwater treatment system; the pumping test is expected to take between two to six weeks. Specifically, the proposed temporary authorization request would, 1) treat the groundwater discharged during the pumping test using the existing permitted groundwater treatment system, and 2) add perchlorate ion exchange resin vessels and granular activated carbon vessels upstream of the groundwater treatment system. The Department of Toxic Substance Control will mail a public notice within ten days of making its decision. More information available via Rocketdyne Representatives, E-Mail Art Lenox, Project Manager, 818-586-5695, ( [email protected] ), E-Mail Blythe Jameson, Environmental Communications, 818-586-6901, ([email protected] ), DTSC, E-Mail Stephen Baxter, Senior Hazardous Substance Engineer, 818-551-2940, ( [email protected] ), E-Mail Lora Barret, Public Participation Specialist, 866-495-5651, ([email protected] ).

Senators Boxer, Feinstein, and Reid Urge Pentagon to Release All Data it has on Perchlorate or Conduct New Comprehensive Study
June 20, 2003
Washington, DC
In response to an incomplete and outdated report on perchlorate contamination, U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and Harry Reid (D-NV) today urged the Department of Defense to undertake a new, comprehensive perchlorate study or to provide them with all the data and analysis that went into the initial study.

On May 22, 2003, the Senate approved a measure, sponsored by Senators Feinstein, Boxer, and Reid, calling on the Department to release this survey, which had been undertaken by the Department of Defense in Spring 2001. The results had not been released to Congress or to the public.

The study was supposed to have examined perchlorate contamination at all active and closed Defense Department sites, dating back to 1950. The documents delivered to the Senators, however, only included limited information on 305 military bases out of the more than 5,000 installations in existence.

Furthermore, the Department did not offer any reasoning as to how the bases were chosen and included, or explain the gaps in information. The documents contain no information gathered since August 2001.

In a letter to Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, the Senators wrote: "We write to continue the dialogue on perchlorate contamination. In response to our April 2 request for information on perchlorate contamination at Defense facilities, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary John Paul Woodley sent our offices a copy of a spreadsheet. We appreciate this response and the effort it involved. However, the information we have received falls far short of what was requested and what is needed; it is incomplete and outdated.

The spreadsheet forwarded to our offices reveals that perchlorate contamination is potentially widespread and pervasive at military installations. Unfortunately, the spreadsheet does not include comprehensive data and the data included is outdated, making it difficult to draw conclusions on the extent of the contamination and necessary next steps. Specifically, only 305 out of more than 5000 bases are included and the most recent data is from August of 2001. Further, the original survey questions are not included and neither the raw data that went into producing the survey, nor analysis one would expect from the Department, was provided. Furthermore, it includes almost no information on the steps that the Department is taking to remediate contamination.

We request that the Department provide us with the full information we have requested by July 16, 2003. If the Department does not have this information, then the Defense should undertake a comprehensive perchlorate contamination survey.

This information is critical to understanding the extent of the perchlorate threat to our country's drinking water supply. This information is also needed by EPA to complete a national perchlorate contamination survey as a critical step in implementing a national drinking water standard. This standard is essential to protecting the health and safety of the public and to providing the best possible guidance to our water agencies as to what level of protection is needed.

Perchlorate poses a significant problem to our communities. In California alone, perchlorate has already been detected in 319 underground wells. Coupled with the perchlorate detected in the Colorado River emanating from the site in Nevada, we face a serious challenge to our drinking water supplies.

With the many Defense and defense contractor sites in California and Nevada, California and Nevada need the cooperation of the Department in addressing the perchlorate detected in our drinking water. These concerns are detailed in the attached letter from the California Environmental Protection Agency.

Secretary Rumsfeld, our military has protected the American people for centuries. For this, we are grateful. We strongly urge you to reaffirm that this commitment extends to protecting citizens within the U.S. from threats to their public health that may arise from critical defense activities.

We look forward to you leadership on this matter, and your complete response."
Bill Aims to Find Perchlorate Sources

Perchlorate and its Occurence in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. Presentation By Dennis Dickerson at the joint USEPA Regional Board Informational Meeting held at the Grand Vista Hotel, Simi Valley (04/24/2003) This version contains some updated information that was presented by Dennis Dickerson at the meeting, but was not contained in the hand out slide information provided to the meeting participants Fact Sheet Perchlorate and Surface/Groundwater Pollutant in Simi Valley (02/2003) Perchlorate Public Advisory Group (PPAG) Meeting: March 14, 2003 First PPAG meeting in Los Angeles Regional Board's office. Click here for the announcement, agenda and meeting location map Thank you letter to March 14, 2003 PPAG meeting participants. (3/27/2003) PPAG meeting notes - March 14, 2003. (4/2/2003) Other Perchlorate information and links: Califoria Department of Health Services: Perchlorate in California Drinking Water: Status of Regulations and Monitoring Results Division of Laboratory Science: Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment(OEHHA): Water- Public Health Goals (PHGs) State Board: The joint state agency Perchlorate report for confirmed releases State Board's Perchlorate Information page Presentation - "Perchlorate Contamination of California's Ground Water Supplies, Joint Presentation by James Giannopoulus (State Water RResources Control Board) and Karen Baker (Department of Toxic Substances Control)": Power Point format (29 MB) Adobe Acrobat - PDF format (14 MB) USEPA: Bush Administration Plans to Seek Scientific Study on EPA Perchlorate Toxicity Data (03/11/2003) Status of EPA’s Interim Assessment Guidance for Perchlorate (01/22/2003) Perchlorate Update Sponsored by: U.S. EPA Technical Support Project. Perchlorate Remediation Information: A new web page devoted to perchlorate remediation has been launched on the CLU-IN site. This page provides access to over 40 technical reports, journal articles, web pages, and other materials from public and private sources. Representing the latest advancements in the research and application of perchlorate treatment technologies, these resources provide up to date information in a number or formats including treatability studies, cost and performance reports, case studies, presentations, and peer reviewed literature. View and download the perchlorate remediation resources on CLU-IN at http://clu-in.org/perchlorate. Terms Of Environment (Glossary, Abbreviations, and Acronyms) (Revised December 1997) "Terms Of Environment" defines in non-technical language the more commonly used environmental terms appearing in EPA publications, news releases, and other Agency documents available to the general public, students, the media, and Agency employees. The definitions do not constitute the Agency's official use of terms and phrases for regulatory purposes, and nothing in this document should be construed to alter or supplant any other federal document. Official terminology may be found in the laws and related regulations as published in such sources as the Congressional Record, Federal Register, and elsewhere. The terms selected for inclusion are derived from previously published lists, internal glossaries produced by various programs and specific suggestions made by personnel in many Agency offices. The chemicals and pesticides selected for inclusion are limited to those most frequently referred to in Agency publications or that are the subject of major regulatory or program activities. Definitions or information about substances or program activities not included herein may be found in EPA libraries or scientific/technical reference documents, or may be obtained from various program offices. Those with suggestions for future editions should write to the Editorial Services Division, Office of Communications, Education, and Public Affairs, 1704, USEPA, Washington DC 20460. Also available on USEPA website. Ahmanson Ranch Ahmanson Ranch Groundwater Sampling Meeting (02/20/2003) Revised Draft Work Plan Groundwater Sampling Well M-1 (02/28/2003) Appendix A Ahmanson Ranch Well M-1 Groundwater Sampling Work Plan Approval, And Response To Site Use Information - Ahmanson Ranch, Ventura County, California (04/23/2003) Boeing Santa Susana Field Lab: Perchlorate Source Evaluation and Technical Report Santa Susana Field Laboratory. Ventura County, February 3, 2003. Prepared for: the Boeing Company Rocketyne Propulsion and Power. Prepared by: Montgomery Watson Harza (MWH) (****Please be patient when downloading below files, these documents are large PDF files****) Volume I - Text Tables and Figures: Perchlorate Report Text and Tables (2 MB) Figures 1-1 to 5-3 (10 MB) Figures 6-1 to 8-3 (5 MB) Volume II - List of Plates: Plates A (5.5 MB) Plates B (5 MB) Plates C (6.5 MB) Plates D (9 MB) Plates E (5.5 MB) Plates F (6.5 MB) Plates G (8 MB) Volume III - Appendices: Appendix 3 A (8 MB) Appendix 4 A-1 Soils (8 MB) Appendix 4 A-2 to 8 A (4.5 MB)

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