The three responsible parties for cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory site in California have asked the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) for two additional months to begin baseline air monitoring.
NASA, acting on behalf of Boeing and the Department of Energy, made the request in a Nov. 27 letter to DTSC. The monitoring is meant to determine baseline levels for dust, volatile organic compounds, and radionuclides prior to the start of environmental remediation.
The current deadline requires the parties to start monitoring by Feb. 10 at the former Southern California facility for rocket engine tests and nuclear energy research. The parties have asked the extend the deadline to April 15.
“We understand the need for urgency, however each of the air monitoring stations is custom assembled to meet our specifications and to allow sufficient time for the equipment suppliers to fabricate, deliver and install these units, along with the larger solar panels required to supply power to both the air monitoring equipment and the security devices,” according to the letter from Keith Thomsen, NASA’s remedial project manager for SSFL.
The letter was attached to the state agency’s monthly site report for November, which was released Tuesday. It was not immediately clear if the extension request has been acted upon yet.
The Department of Toxic Substances Control in December closed out the public comment period on two major documents, the draft program environmental impact report (PEIR) and draft program management plan (PMP), on the cleanup of the radioactively contaminated site. The state’s goal is to finalize the PEIR in 2018 and for all three responsible parties to submit draft cleanup decision documents to the state in late 2018 to early 2019.
California expects cleanup at the site to begin in 2019 and possibly be finished in 2034. Boeing owns most of the 2,849-acre property located about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
