[Home]   [Full version]  

Santa Susana lab facing major cleanup

Sep 11 ,Space & Earth science


California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is considering a bill that would force Boeing and NASA to clean up their Santa Susana Field Lab.

The bill comes nearly two decades after it was revealed that the lab, just 30 miles from Los Angeles, was full of toxic and radioactive contamination, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.

The U.S. Department of Energy has been ordered by a judge to begin a new study of the radioactive and chemical contamination at its former nuclear research facility and the state agency responsible for controlling toxic contamination has appointed a new project manager who promised to be open with the public.

"Our approach to the project has changed," said Norman Riley, project manager for the California Department of Toxic Substances Control since April. "We have some new people involved and a renewed commitment to transparency about our involvement and efforts on the project."

The state agency signed an order last month, giving Boeing, the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration a deadline of 2017 to complete the site cleanup.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

Related stories:

Pesticide build-up could lead to poor honey bee health
Honey bees industriously bring pollen and nectar to the hive, but along with the bounty comes a wide variety of pesticides, according to Penn State researchers. Add the outside assault to the pesticides already in the waxy structure of the hive, and bee researchers see a problem difficult to evaluate and correct. However, an innovative approach may mitigate at least some beeswax contamination.
Researchers test sediment-scrubbing technology in NH river
In a mud flat at the edge of the Cocheco River, just outside downtown Dover, scientists from the University of New Hampshire's Contaminated Sediments Center are testing an innovative way to treat polluted sediment in coastal waterways.
Earthworm detectives provide genetic clues for dealing with soil pollution
The humble earthworm, famously acknowledged by Charles Darwin when he wrote "It may be doubted whether there are many other animals... which have played so important a part in the history of the world", provides a new sensitive and detailed picture of what is going on in our contaminated soil ecosystems.
Scientists melt million-year-old ice in search of ancient microbes
Researchers from the University of Delaware and the University of California at Riverside have thawed ice estimated to be at least a million years old from above Lake Vostok, an ancient lake that lies hidden more than two miles beneath the frozen surface of Antarctica.
Mercury's link to heart disease begins in blood vessel walls
Heavy metals and other toxins have been linked to many human diseases, but determining exactly how they damage the body remains a mystery in many cases. New research focusing on a relatively obscure, misunderstood protein suggests mercury's link to heart disease can be traced to activation of this enzyme, which triggers a process leading to plaque buildup in blood vessel walls.
'Hidden-Hero' Microbes In Soil, Water May Help Naturally Clean Toxic Sites
Buried under 243 acres in an East Tennessee valley adjacent to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Y-12 National Security Complex, toxic waste from weapons manufacturing at the facility between 1951 and 1983 leaches into groundwater that extends in radioactive plumes for miles from the contaminated site.
Nano design adjustment may help find, clear some water contaminants
Experiments designed to test discrepancies in theoretical computational chemistry have turned up a barely two-angstrom difference that may lead to a new approach to locate and remove dangerous toxins such as perchlorate and nitrates from the environment.
Carbon nanotubes offer 'green' technology for perchlorate removal
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have demonstrated a new, environmentally friendly process for treating water contaminated by perchlorate, a toxic chemical that has been found in drinking water in 35 states.

News discussion:

Space & Earth science news

[Home]   [Full version]