NASA Plans to Demolish Rocket Test Stands
Source: Post Periodical
San Fernando Valley Residents Concerned About Soil Removal Process
NASA plans to demolish rocket test stands and other structures at a former nuclear research laboratory just west of the San Fernando Valley.
The decision released Thursday brings the agency closer to meeting a 2017 deadline to clean up contaminated soil at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. Boeing and the U.S. Department of Energy are also working with the state to clean up the site which had a partial nuclear meltdown in 1959 and decades of contamination from rocket testing.
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Almost all of the test stands were built between 1954 and 1957. In the 1960s, much of the support work for the Saturn Apollo program which sent astronauts to the moon was performed at Santa Susana. The Coca I and Coca IV Test Stands were used for more than 700 “hot fire” tests and more than 500 related laboratory tests through 1988. All test stands were taken out of service by 2006.
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According to NASA’s environmental impact report, removing the contaminated soil would involve 142 truck trips per day for three years. The trucks weighing as much as 80,000 pounds would traverse busy streets, including Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Roscoe Boulevard, Valley Circle Boulevard and Plummer Street.
Councilmember Mitch Englander has raised concerns about the risk of exposure to children as well as the wear and tear on the streets.
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In March, the West Hills Neighborhood Council passed a resolution stating that on-site remediation is much preferred over removing and replacing soil. They also suggested the agencies removing the soil should be responsible for any damage to the streets.
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Read more: http://www.postperiodical.com/nasa-plans-to-demolish-rocket-test-stands/
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No consideration for the impact that has on the people who live along that route, the streets it will be destroying or the safety of those who will travel those streets.
