Santa Susana Field Laboratory

The 2,850-acre Santa Susana Field Laboratory straddles the remote Simi Hills at the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties between Chatsworth and Simi Valley in the Santa Susana Mountains about 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles.

The Santa Susana Field Lab is located within a vital habitat linkage that connects the Santa Susana Mountains with the inland Sierra Madre Mountains to the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Coast. It has many culturally-significant sites related to historic use by Native Americans, and a portion of the site is included in the National Register of Historic Places. The field lab was the proving ground for rocket engines that launched America into space and helped win the Cold War. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics identifies it as a historic aerospace site. It is a unique part of the cultural, environmental and technological fabric of Simi Valley, California and the United States.

The site was historically used to test rocket engines for NASA and the military, and to perform non-military nuclear energy research at Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC), for example, leading-edge nuclear power, solar and energy-efficiency technology development.

The Santa Susana Field Lab’s 2,850 acres are divided into four administrative areas. Boeing acquired 2,398 acres from Rocketdyne in 1996 when it purchased Rockwell's aerospace and defense unit. The Department of Energy (DOE) owns several buildings on the 90 acres of Boeing property it leased and the U.S. Government owns 452 acres that are administered by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Santa Susana, CA is a vast hilltop natural area dominated by sandstone cliffs featuring oak woodlands, scrub and meadows, with valley and mountain vistas. Plant and animal species thrive at the Santa Susana Field Lab, including deer, bobcats, coyotes, cougars and raptors. A few decommissioned rocket engine test stands and other buildings still dot the landscape. Nearly 90% of historical buildings have been removed as operational activity at the Department of Energy's Energy Technology Engineering Center was phased out in 1988 and rocket engine testing ended in 2006. Environmental and community groups and universities use the land for environmental research, restoration and recreation. Boeing hosts frequent bus tours and guided hikes to share the Santa Susana’s historical significance and cleanup progress.

Yes. Santa Susana, CA – with its sandstone cliffs, oak woodlands, meadows, hills and streams – provides a rare and vital habitat and a crucial wildlife linkage in the Simi Valley area of Southern California. The site has a unique history of Native American use and aerospace technological achievements. Because the Simi Hills site has these characteristics, in 2017, the North American Land Trust recorded a conservation easement to permanently protect the land as open space habitat.

Boeing has partnered, and will continue to partner, with established organizations that share its open space vision. In addition, leading universities are engaged in environmental research at Boeing Santa Susana. The National Park Service is also studying the possibility of including the site in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area as part of its Rim of the Valley study.

The conservation easement ensures the preservation and protection of the unique and critical Simi Hills habitat, cultural resources and open space within nearly 2,400 acres of land that Boeing owns at Santa Susana. It is a legally enforceable property restriction that forever prohibits development or use of the land for residential or agricultural purposes. The land’s future as open space habitat will preserve the land as a wildlife corridor, will benefit local plants and animals (many of which are protected) and will preserve the many cultural resources. The conservation easement memorializes Boeing’s commitment for more than ten years to preserve the Boeing-owned property at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory as open space to protect vital wildlife habitat and honor the land's Native American history.

North American Land Trust (NALT) is a respected, longstanding, experienced land trust that has protected 120,000+ acres and completed over 500 projects in 20 states since 1992. For more information about NALT, visit their website here.

As the holder of the conservation easement, North American Land Trust (NALT) monitors activities at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory to ensure the prevention of development and preservation of natural and cultural resources. NALT also has the authority to enforce the land use restrictions in court.

The conservation easement does not affect the responsibility of Boeing, the Department of Energy or NASA to fulfill their respective cleanup requirements. It ensures there is no confusion about the future use of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory property. Future land use is critical in determining the level of cleanup necessary to protect human health and the environment. The conservation easement legally secures the future of the Simi Valley site as open space habitat. It ensures that, regardless of zoning or the desires of any future land owner, the site will never be used for residential or agricultural purposes. We remain committed to completing a cleanup that fully protects human health and the environment, consistent with the future use of the Santa Susana, CA property as open space habitat.

The conservation easement provides certainty that the only legally permitted future use of nearly 2,400 acres of the Santa Susana Field Lab, now and forever, is open space habitat. The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) should only consider cleanup scenarios consistent with that future use.

The Santa Susana conservation easement is recorded in the Official Records of Ventura County and permanently "runs with the land," which means that it lasts and binds the Simi Valley property forever, regardless of who owns the property.

Numerous parties have the right to enforce the provisions of the conservation easement recorded over Boeing Santa Susana. In addition to Boeing and the land trust easement holder (North American Land Trust) being able to enforce the restrictions on any current or future land owner or occupant of the Simi Hills property, the conservation easement also specifically provides that the California Attorney General and "any governmental authority with jurisdiction over the Property" are able to enforce the conservation easement. That would include not only the California Attorney General’s Charitable Trust Section, whose mission is to investigate and bring legal actions against charities that misuse charitable assets, but also agencies like DTSC, the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board, and Ventura County. As such, Boeing’s conservation easement is significantly stronger than other restrictive covenants or land use restrictions that the State of California enters into with landowners to restrict future property use at contaminated sites.

The Santa Susana Field Lab conservation easement clarifies the future land use so that appropriate cleanup decisions can proceed. We have publicly stated for over a decade that we will clean up and restrict Boeing Santa Susana to ensure it is preserved as open space to protect the important habitat, cultural and historical values in the Santa Susana Mountains. The conservation easement makes Boeing’s commitment legally binding. We hope the conservation easement will reassure the public, and all who are committed to the preservation of the invaluable natural and cultural resources at the field lab, of our commitment to completing a cleanup that fully protects human health and the environment for the site’s future as open space habitat.

No. On April 24, 2017, Boeing recorded a conservation easement in favor of North American Land Trust (NALT) to permanently preserve and protect Boeing’s nearly 2,400 acres at the Santa Susana site. The Settlement Agreement does not affect the validity of the conservation easement. Boeing maintains that the Conservation Easement is legally enforceable, in perpetuity, is consistent with the land’s zoning as open space, and is fully effective, regardless of the Settlement Agreement. NALT, an established and respected land trust, holds numerous conservation easements, preserving property nationwide. The conservation easement over Boeing’s land at Santa Susana seeks to:

• Conserve and protect Boeing’s property from specified development or uses.
• Ensure approximately 2,400 acres of land in Ventura County will remain open space habitat, prohibiting residential, agricultural and other uses.
• Forever protect the land, which is a part of the Regional Wildlife Corridor and Simi Hills Critical Wildlife Passage Area in Ventura County’s General Plan and Non-Coastal Zoning Ordinance
• Provide for deference to the DTSC’s and the Los Angeles Water Board’s regulatory requirements for cleanup.

Boeing’s property at Santa Susana will remain as open space. As a compromise to resolve prior disputes and accelerate to cleanup and subject to the terms of the Settlement Agreement, Boeing has agreed not to challenge DTSC’s selection of a remedy to a cleanup level, up to and including a “Resident with Garden” exposure scenario. Although Boeing would incur more cost to excavate and remove more soil than under other exposure scenarios, by agreeing in advance to a range of cleanup scenarios it will avoid years of disputes and litigation, and it will be able to accomplish the soil cleanup more quickly in a manner that is also protective of surface water and groundwater, which is better for the community, public health and the environment. In addition, the protection of cultural and biological resources during cleanup will be a priority. Regardless of the cleanup standard selected, the recorded Conservation Easement for the Boeing property states that the property may not be used for residences or gardens.

No, the Conservation Easement provides that the approximately 2,400 acres of Boeing property at Santa Susana will remain open space habitat and prohibits residential, agricultural and other uses.

No. Even though the land use covenant restricting consumption from Boeing’s cleanup areas will be removed once the groundwater cleanup has taken place, the Conservation Easement prohibits human consumption of surface water and groundwater at the Boeing property in perpetuity.

Current zoning would allow residential development (i.e., one house (and one ancillary dwelling) on the 2,400 acres of Boeing land at Santa Susana). Any proposal to rezone the site to denser residential use would require compliance with the relevant land-use regulations and ordinances of Ventura County, including the zoning code and general plan. Additionally, changing the zoning to a more intensive use would likely require a vote by Ventura County residents pursuant to Ventura County law (e.g., Save Open Space & Agricultural Resources (SOAR) initiatives).

Boeing and DTSC, in coordination with the appropriate regulatory agencies and Tribal Representatives, will assess potential impacts on ecological, historic and cultural resources as part of the final remedy decision. DTSC may apply exceptions to the selected cleanup standard to preserve biological and cultural resources.

The comprehensive framework set forth in the two agreements provides Boeing with a clear process, schedule and criteria for future decision-making at the Santa Susana site in order to accelerate cleanup, reduce the potential for technical disputes and establish a process to resolve them quickly, and avoid delays due to potential litigation.

Last year, a well-known and respected polling firm in California conducted a poll on our behalf in order to gain insight into the public’s understanding of Boeing’s investigation and cleanup activities at Santa Susana, including Boeing’s settlement agreements with the State.

In a sample survey of more than 5,000 voters in Ventura and Los Angeles counties who live near the site, the poll found overwhelming support for the Agreement, with 84% of those surveyed expressing support. This research gives us insight into the local community’s understanding of our recent settlement agreement with DTSC and will assist us in keeping the public informed of our efforts to restore and preserve the site.

Boeing anticipates demolishing its remaining buildings in Area IV when the Physicians for Social Responsibility litigation is resolved.

The Santa Susana Field Laboratory was at the center of nuclear energy research efforts after World War II to progress space exploration and protect the United States during the Cold War. In connection with these operations, chemicals were used and released into the soil and groundwater.

Boeing has conducted interim cleanup measures at Santa Susana while building the scientific basis for cleanup pending final regulatory approval. Boeing has removed or treated 45,000 cubic yards of soil; analyzed 38,000+ soil and groundwater samples; drilled 260 groundwater monitoring and extraction wells; and dismantled more than 300 structures. In addition, Boeing has:

• Installed a state-of-the-art groundwater treatment system;
• Built stormwater containment and filtration systems designed in consultation with a panel of stormwater experts to meet water quality standards that in many cases are stricter than drinking water standards (although there is no human water consumption)
• Restored 900 acres of land.

In 2007, Boeing, NASA and the DOE signed a comprehensive cleanup agreement (“2007 consent order”) with the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). Boeing is committed to completing a cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory that is fully protective of both human health and the environment, consistent with the field lab’s future as open space habitat. Boeing continues to meet all of its obligations to implement the 2007 consent order. Here are key steps in the process:

• The DTSC issues a certified, final site-wide Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
• DTSC approves the investigation reports previously submitted by Boeing
• Boeing is preparing risk assessment reports for DTSC approval
• When risk assessment is approved, Boeing will prepare a corrective measure study for DTSC approval
• When corrective measure study is approved and finalized, DTSC will issue a statement of basis outlining the final cleanup plan
• Boeing continues long-term groundwater cleanup and monitoring.
• Boeing completes soil cleanup.

Boeing secured a conservation easement that permanently preserves nearly 2,400 acres of Boeing-owned land at Santa Susana as open space habitat. After the cleanup, Santa Susana, CA will continue to be a place where Santa Susana mountain lions roam free, cultural artifacts remain undisturbed and oak woodlands have the opportunity to thrive.

Yes. We remain committed to a cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory that is fully protective of human health and the environment, consistent with the land’s future use as open space habitat. Our cleanup will protect everyone who visits Santa Susana for recreational purposes and our neighbors in the surrounding community, as well as preserve unique wildlife habitat and protect important Native American cultural resources.

Boeing recorded a conservation easement that permanently preserves nearly 2,400 acres of Boeing-owned land at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory as open space habitat. This easement ensures there will never be residential or agricultural development of the Simi Hills site.

Based on extensive data collected over decades, there are no levels of contaminants from Santa Susana that would pose a risk for off-site gardens or for residents using those gardens now, and in the future. In an April 2013 letter to the Mayor of Simi Valley, the DTSC stated, "To date we have not found evidence of off-site contamination from SSFL that would pose a risk to human health or the environment."

The reference in Boeing’s report submitted to DTSC that included an estimate for a lifetime Simi Valley cancer risk of one in three is a hypothetical risk prior to cleanup and is primarily attributable to naturally occurring arsenic. The hypothetical risk following cleanup at this location will be 1 in 1 million or less, a point clearly described in Boeing’s report. This calculation is just one among many that are considered in assessing the site and setting the ultimate cleanup level, and it is misleading to focus just on this calculation. The most important fact for the public to understand is that Boeing remains committed to completing a cleanup that is fully protective of both human health and the environment, consistent with the land’s future use as open space habitat.

With regard to the risk calculation referenced above, there are two critical points that must be understood to properly interpret this calculation and comprehend what it means, and what it doesn’t mean.

Assumption #1: The calculation assumes that no cleanup will ever be done. Fact: Boeing will perform a cleanup that is fully protective of human health and the environment, consistent with the land’s future use as open space habitat.

Assumption #2: The calculation assumes that a person will live on the site and consume produce from a backyard garden. Fact: No one will ever live on Boeing’s portion of Santa Susana in the Simi Hills. North American Land Trust holds a conservation easement that permanently preserves nearly 2,400 acres of Boeing-owned land at Santa Susana as open space habitat.

Future land use at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory is controlled by the 2017 conservation easement, not zoning. Under the conservation easement, no agricultural use for human consumption will ever occur on the nearly 2,400 acres at Boeing Santa Susana.

Following the cleanup at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, contaminants from historic site operations that remain on Boeing’s property will be at or below levels that meet regulatory requirements and standards for property used as open space habitat.

No, the California wildfires did not affect air quality beyond typical smoke associated with fires of this nature. Data collected from Boeing air monitoring stations during the Simi Valley fire confirm that no man-made radionuclides were detected. The data, evaluated by an independent, State-certified laboratory, were consistent with any forest or brush fire where increased airborne particulate matter from smoke and fire is present. Only naturally-occurring radioactive material (NORM) was detected in the samples collected. The levels of NORM were well below regulatory standards for airborne radionuclides and well below general background levels in the United States, which are considered safe by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). See “Boeing’s Radiological Air Monitoring Data Associated with the Woolsey Fire” here.

No, the Santa Susana Field Laboratory site does not have dangerous levels of radioactivity. The U.S. EPA completed a $42 million exhaustive radiological characterization survey of Area IV, the parcel of land where DOE operations took place and that is being cleaned up by DOE standards. The survey found that low levels of residual contamination from past civilian nuclear energy research affects approximately 40 acres of the 290 acres in Area IV. EPA’s measurements show that most of the radiation levels are lower than naturally occurring levels measured in nearby off-site locations. To read the EPA's study, visit EPA Radiological Characterization Study Results.

The U.S. EPA conducted an exhaustive radiological characterization survey of Area IV between 2009 and 2012. The EPA described the survey as, “one of the most robust technical investigations ever undertaken for low-level radioactive contamination.” The results of the survey will help guide remediation efforts in Area IV.

According to the EPA:

• “In general, EPA found elevated radiation levels in the areas where we expected to find them, isolated to a number of former process or disposal areas.”
• “Level of radiation throughout most of the Area IV study area was lower than the offsite background locations.”
• “This survey resulted in the discovery of several areas of elevated radiation levels, but none posed a health risk to personnel.”
• As part of the survey, the EPA took 3,735 soil samples and conducted over 128,000 separate analyses. In summary, the radiation levels found were limited and localized to certain former process and disposal areas. These results are in line with what would be expected for a facility of this type, which operated for many decades. No (0%) samples exceed the EPA acceptable risk range for open space land use.

EPA Radiological Characterization Study Results fact sheet

A 2007 study that compiled existing off-site data found no evidence of offsite radiological contamination. In an April 2013 letter to the Mayor of Simi Valley, the DTSC stated, “To date we have not found evidence of off-site contamination from SSFL that would pose a risk to human health or the environment.” in areas such as the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, Santa Susana Knolls, Moorpark and beyond. More recently, DTSC stated in the Biannual April 2018 public meeting that “DTSC has not found any evidence that contamination from [historical] operations at SSFL has posed or would pose a threat to human health or the environment outside the SSFL site boundaries.”

No. Since 1990, numerous studies conducted by government agencies, university researchers and others have examined cancer rates in the communities surrounding Santa Susana. It is not unusual for multiple studies to be conducted and come to different conclusions, which is why one must look at all of them. Taken together, the studies do not support a link between incidences of cancer and past operations at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL).

The two most recent studies were performed by Professor Lewis Morgenstern of the University of Michigan and Professor Thomas Mack of the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.

A 2007 study by Professor Morgenstern concluded, “The results from this study suggest little or no association between residential distance from SSFL and the incidence of all cancers or the group of (radio-sensitive) malignancies thought to be affected by ionizing radiation. There was, however, a weak positive association during both follow-up periods between distance from SSFL and the group of (chemo-sensitive) malignancies thought to be affected by exposure to chemicals used at Rocketdyne.” The study further concluded, “Furthermore, we have no direct evidence that the associations we observed, even if they reflect real differences among the three regions, necessarily reflect the effects of environmental exposures originating at SSFL.”

A 2014 study by Professor Mack concluded, “No evidence of measurable offsite cancer causation occurring as a result of emissions from the SSFL was found. Further, no evidence of any cancer causation by any environmental factor was found.” Dr. Mack presented his findings at a DTSC public meeting in April 2014.

An overview of epidemiological and community health studies can be found here.

It is not true that 300 times permissible concentrations were released during the Sodium Reactor Experiment accident. Many people have made various statements about the 1959 Sodium Reactor Experiment incident using assumptions that are not supported by facts and data.

What we do know is the incident occurred at a time when the area around the Santa Susana Field Laboratory was still sparsely populated. Records were kept of the levels that were released and used to calculate potential exposure dose. The total radiation doses for the two month period following the SRE accident were 0.099 millirem for a hypothetical person at the Santa Susana site boundary, and 0.018 millirem for a hypothetical person at the location of the nearest resident in 1959 (1.33 miles away).

These doses are a fraction of the permissible exposure level in 1959, and today’s more restrictive federal limits, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Department of Energy exposure limits for nuclear facilities (100 millirem/year) and the U.S. EPA limit for airborne emissions (10 millirem/year). Nuclear energy operations at Santa Susana ended decades ago. The SRE accident has been the subject of extensive study and commentary. Here is some additional information about the incident:

Energy Technology Engineering Center website
Department of Energy SRE Workshop
Annual Site Environmental Reports, 1955-present

No, there were no “secret releases of radiation” at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. Radiation releases were monitored, measured and documented in compliance with federal regulations. The Santa Susana Field Laboratory continually monitored the site for potential releases and reported the results of its monitoring. The results of this sampling were documented in annual monitoring reports.

Copies of annual site environmental reports for Area IV of Santa Susana Field Laboratory from 1955 through 2014 are available on the Energy Technology Engineering Center website.

Barrels of sodium and other chemicals were part of hazardous waste disposal in the Simi Valley site’s Area IV Burn Pit during the 1950s, 60s and 70s in compliance with existing regulations at the time. Subsequent site investigations showed that the Area IV Burn Pit did become radiologically contaminated. It was cleaned up during the 1990s and released for unrestricted use (i.e. declared clean) in 1998 by the California Department of Health Services (now Department of Public Health).

There have been two worker health studies at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. A 1997-1999 study of Santa Susana Rocketdyne workers and simi valley cancer rates conducted by UCLA was extensively reviewed by a number of experts who questioned the study’s methodology. As a result, Boeing and the United Aerospace Workers Union (UAW) sponsored a second worker health study that was conducted by the International Epidemiology Institute and overseen by an independent Science Committee comprised of nationally renowned public health and epidemiological experts.

This study, which was completed in 2005 and updated in 2011, was peer reviewed and published in the Journal of Radiation Research. It stated, in reference to Simi Valley cancer rates, "The extended follow-up reinforces the findings in the previous study in failing to observe a detectable increase in cancer deaths associated with radiation, but strong conclusions still cannot be drawn because of small numbers and relatively low career doses.” The Science Committee likewise concluded that, “The Rocketdyne workforce had a much lower overall mortality than the rate observed in the California population. There is no evidence that working conditions caused increased mortality in the Rocketdyne workforce."

International Epidemiology Institute Worker Health Study Executive Summary
Information about UCLA Worker Health Study

No. The authors of the UCLA study did not conduct any soil, air or other environmental testing that would provide information about hazardous chemicals and radioactivity from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory that exist today, either on or offsite. The study is primarily a review of limited, historical information. In addition, the study was not subject to peer review and several experts have questioned its methodology.

Comments from Boeing and other experts on the UCLA study can be found here.
One study that did involve actual sampling was the onsite radiological characterization survey of Area IV of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory that the U.S. EPA conducted between 2009 and 2012. The EPA described the survey as, "one of the most robust technical investigations ever undertaken for low-level radioactive contamination." In summary, the radiation levels found onsite were limited and localized to certain former process and disposal areas. These results are in line with what would be expected for a facility of this type, which operated for many decades.

Final EPA Radiological Characterization Reports

Dr. Morgenstern's report states: “There is little or no association, for total cancers and radiosensitive cancers among adults.” For the few cancers for which higher rates were reported, the report concludes that "There is no direct evidence from this investigation, however, that these observed associations reflect the effects of environmental exposures originating at SSFL."

And in his April 2014 study of area cancer rates, Dr. Thomas Mack of USC Keck School of Medicine concluded: "no evidence of measurable offsite cancer causation occurring as a result of emissions from Santa Susana."

Settlements of this nature are common and occur for a number of reasons unrelated to the merits of the claims being asserted. It is important to note that the overriding conclusion of numerous health studies is that people living near Santa Susana are not at increased risk for developing cancers as a result of past operations.

As a result of past rocket engine testing and energy research, chemicals seeped into the soil and groundwater at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. The primary groundwater contaminant is trichloroethylene (TCE), a common industrial solvent. TCE was used in the early years at the lab to clean out residual fuel after rocket engine testing and degrease parts and equipment.

In 1984, Rocketdyne, the previous owner of Boeing’s property, began an extensive investigation and cleanup program to identify and prevent the spread of groundwater that was contaminated by past industrial activity. Groundwater investigation efforts at Santa Susana also have been conducted over several decades by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This work has been performed under the oversight of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).

Groundwater investigations have revealed that groundwater plumes are stable and are not impacting human health or the environment.  Data shows:

• site-related contaminants are stable and found within the boundaries of the site, with one minor exception in an area to the northeast,
• contaminated areas in the groundwater have decreased through the years and continue to shrink in size,
• testing of property surrounding the Santa Susana site revealed no traces of site-related chemicals in groundwater emerging above-ground through seeps and springs
• no community or private drinking water supply wells have been impacted by site-related chemicals.

This is mainly because the groundwater is found in the Chatsworth formation, which is primarily sandstone. Sandstone is formed of fine-grained rocks that can hold water like a sponge and with very small pores, sandstone serves as a good filter of surface pollutants. There is significant faulting and folding of the rocks below the site. These folds and cracks allow water to move through the rock, however, much of the water is stored in the pore spaces of the sandstone. As a result of the porosity of the sandstone, contaminants are diffused and absorbed into the bedrock and limit the movement of chemicals in groundwater. Most contaminants in groundwater at the site remain within about a half a mile of where they entered the groundwater about 60 years ago.

The Groundwater Advisory Panel was formed in 1996. It is made up of renowned experts in the fields of geology, site analysis and remediation, and the movement of chemicals in groundwater. The purpose of the Panel is to provide guidance to Boeing on how best to monitor and clean the groundwater under the site. Under the direction of the Panel, several new techniques have been developed and employed at the site to provide a detailed examination of the fractured bedrock and deep groundwater to study the distribution of the chemical contamination.

No. The groundwater below Santa Susana is not used for drinking water purposes onsite.  The groundwater at Santa Susana also is not a source for municipal drinking water served to local communities.

Groundwater has been extensively tested at and around the Santa Susana site for decades.  After many years of investigation, we have confirmed that no off-site water supply well is affected by contamination associated with past site activities at SSFL.  The groundwater at the Santa Susana site is not migrating, and impacted areas are steadily decreasing in size.  With one minor exception northeast of the Boeing property boundary, all of the groundwater impacts from past operations at SSFL are contained within the site boundary.

In addition, the groundwater at Santa Susana is part of a different aquifer with no connection to the aquifer that Simi Valley had proposed to use to supplement drinking water. In August 2018, the City of Simi Valley presented the Feasibility Study to Develop the Simi Valley Basin as a Potable Water Resource to the community.  In response to community concerns about groundwater contaminants in Simi Valley, the study concluded that the Simi Valley Basin is independent of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory and its contaminants.

Research into the nature and extent of groundwater contamination started in 1987 and involves analyzing groundwater from more than 600 wells, investigating the nature of the groundwater system through a series of aquifer tests, mapping of the geology of Simi Hills, and identifying and sampling of seeps and springs. Several new investigation techniques have been developed and used for the first time at the site to provide a detailed investigation into the fractured bedrock and groundwater at Santa Susana.

In-situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO)
Boeing conducted a pilot test to determine if injecting potassium permanganate solution into groundwater could remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the saturated bedrock underneath the site. The technique has been used at other contaminated sites to oxidize chlorinated solvents into more benign substances. But Santa Susana is a more challenging environment because groundwater is constrained by fractures and faults and sandstone bedrock, unlike other sites with sand and gravel aquifers where groundwater is easier to treat.

Groundwater Interim Measures (GWIM)
The GWIM consists of a series of 13 extraction wells located across the site primarily in source areas or where containment concentrations are highest.  The extracted groundwater is treated at Boeing’s Groundwater Extraction Treatment System (GETs) and is subjected to several state-of-the-art treatments, including ion exchange, air stripping, carbon absorption and ultra violet oxidation. Boeing’s contractors test the treated water to confirm that it meets levels stricter than drinking water standards.  The clean water is then reinjected into the aquifer below the site.  It is called an “interim measure” because it’s not a final approved cleanup remedy.

Bedrock Vapor Extraction (BVE)
Boeing is conducting a bedrock vapor extraction pilot test in the southeast area of the site to determine if vapor extraction can remove TCE in bedrock.  It works by applying vacuum flow through the soil and fractured bedrock to extract vapors. Onsite, the vacuum is applied to extraction wells open to fractures and unsaturated porous bedrock and focuses in an area where high levels of TCE were found in partially saturated rock and groundwater.

Yes. Perchlorate was used in solid rocket motor research in two locations onsite at the field lab; approximately 95% of the rocket engine testing performed at Santa Susana was on liquid-fueled rocket engines without perchlorate.

Perchlorate was discovered in soil and groundwater at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, consistent with the controlled areas where small rockets were previously tested and a former hazardous waste disposal site. Perchlorate related to activities at Santa Susana was not detected in any of the groundwater, surface water, sediment or soil samples collected at the Simi Valley site.

A perchlorate remediation was performed between 2004 and 2007 at the field lab. Approximately 15,500 cubic yards of soil was excavated and treated onsite, using a treatment approach approved by California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board). Boeing is also pumping and treating groundwater from several areas onsite where groundwater was impacted by historical site operations, including where perchlorate is detected.

No. There is no evidence that the perchlorate detected in Simi Valley wells is related to past operations at Santa Susana. This conclusion is based on a comprehensive study completed by the Army Corps of Engineers in 2007 and numerous other investigation reports and studies.

In the early 2000s, perchlorate was detected in surface soil at the site of the proposed Dayton Canyon development located in West Hills. Although perchlorate was not detected again in that location, an investigation was conducted in connection with DTSC and the Regional Board regarding the potential for perchlorate to move from Santa Susana to the Dayton Canyon development site. Hundreds of soil, sediment, groundwater and surface water samples were collected adjacent to the known use areas at Santa Susana, including drainage areas leading from Santa Susana to the Dayton Canyon site. No evidence of perchlorate was found in any of the offsite sample locations and DTSC released the area for residential development in 2008.

Boeing’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit allows Boeing to reroute surface water (particularly outfalls 005, 006 and 007) into unlined ponds that result in seepage into the groundwater, which is used by a large part of the Simi Valley community for drinking water.

It is important to note that Boeing, DOE and NASA are working under the oversight of Department of Toxic Substances Control to reduce contamination in groundwater at Santa Susana. Groundwater below the site is not — and never will be — used for public consumption. Last year, DTSC issued a Land Use Covenant and Agreement that restricts the use of groundwater at the site for domestic use or human consumption.  In addition, the use of groundwater for drinking water purposes is expressly prohibited in the 2017 Conservation Easement that Boeing recorded over our approximately 2,400 acres at Santa Susana.

The ponds are dry most of the year. They fill up during rain events, then we run the water through the treatment system and discharge the treated water so we have capacity for the next rain event.  This practice does not leave much opportunity (time) for infiltration.  Silvernale pond, in particular, does not allow much infiltration because there is a shallow shale layer that prevents infiltration into the deeper aquifer.

The Groundwater Expert Panel has studied the groundwater contamination at SSFL for decades, and based on their analysis of hundreds of monitoring wells both on and off site, with the exception of a small TCE plume just outside Boeing property boundary in the NE corner of the site, there is no evidence that the site contaminants have impacted offsite groundwater.

In 2018, the Regional Board hosted a hearing on the City of Simi Valley’s groundwater feasibility study.  During that hearing, water purveyors and groundwater experts testified that the groundwater at Santa Susana is part of a different aquifer with no direct connection to the aquifer that Simi Valley had proposed to use to supplement drinking water supplies. In addition, they testified that contamination that may exist in the Simi Valley aquifer is from local sources and not related to Santa Susana operations.

Boeing conducted a detailed evaluation of historical document databases prepared for the Boeing Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Facility Investigation (RFI) subareas to identify any reference to use of PFAS and “Suspect Materials.” These records indicated:

• Only small quantity usage or storage of PFAS/Suspect Materials. Large quantity use or storage of PFAS is not documented at any of the Boeing RFI sites.
• Documented PFAS/Suspect Materials were related to oils, lubricants, and greases. Heavy end petroleum hydrocarbon fraction sampling results were evaluated in areas with potential oil-, lubricant-, or grease-related PFAS/Suspect Materials use or storage. Soil and groundwater hydrocarbon concentrations in these areas are generally low and do not indicate significant oil or grease releases to the environment.
• Some of the records relate to Teflon or Viton. According to the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC), an environmental coalition working to create innovative solutions and best management practices, Teflon is “a ‘polymer of low concern’ due to high molecular weight and extreme stability.” Viton is resistant to “all aliphatic, aromatic and halogenated hydrocarbons, acids, animal and vegetable oils” (DuPont, 2020) and has “exceptionally good resistance to atmospheric oxidation” (CP Lab Safety, 2020). Therefore, mobility for these substances in the environment is expected to be negligible and they are unlikely to impact groundwater.

In 2021, the Regional Board and DTSC asked Boeing (and NASA and DOE) to sample groundwater in several areas onsite for PFAS compounds. In the 3rd quarter 2023, Boeing collected groundwater samples in three areas of known fire suppression demonstrations. These areas include: 1) Building 1319 where the fire engine and a canister with Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) were located, 2) the Lower Lot where firefighting demonstrations were historically conducted, and 3) Former Fire Department Demonstration Area 4 in AIBP where firefighting demonstrations were historically conducted.

Boeing’s sampling is still under laboratory testing and review. A report of the results is expected to be submitted to DTSC in the third quarter of 2024.

Groundwater is already being cleaned up at several locations of the site under DTSC direction (Groundwater Interim Measure). The groundwater interim measure will continue and may be a portion of the final groundwater cleanup.

The Settlement Agreement provides a streamlined process under RCRA FIRST program for further remediation of groundwater. According to the schedule included in the Settlement Agreement, implementation of the final groundwater remedy will begin in mid-2025. (Exhibit 17 of the Settlement Agreement provides additional detail on the groundwater cleanup process.)

Groundwater in certain areas beneath the SSFL site is not safe for human consumption at this time. DTSC and Boeing will execute and record an enforceable LUC to prohibit human consumption or domestic uses of groundwater.

No. Even though the land use covenant restricting consumption from Boeing’s cleanup areas will be removed once the groundwater cleanup has taken place, the Conservation Easement prohibits human consumption of surface water and groundwater at the Boeing property in perpetuity.