Radioactively contaminated areas of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) in Ventura County, Calif., were not hit by the Woolsey Fire last week, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) said Monday.
“Our staff were able to access the site Saturday morning and assess damage caused by the fire,” DTSC spokesman Russ Edmondson said by email. “We confirmed that the SSFL facilities that previously handled radioactive and hazardous materials were not affected by the fire.”
The state agency said Nov. 9 certain areas of the 2,800-acre Santa Susana site had been burned by the fire.
The Los Angeles chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility said last week that smoke from the fire could spread radioactive or chemical contamination from SSFL.
The fire is no longer burning within SSFL. “Currently, there is no fire activity near there,” a representative with the Ventura County Fire Department said by phone Thursday evening.
The wildfire has scorched nearly 100,000 acres in Southern California and killed at least three people. As of Friday morning, the fire was said to be about 69 percent contained, thanks to diminishing winds.
“All DOE facilities are untouched” at the site, the Energy Department said in a Monday statement online. An updated statement from the agency on Wednesday said the DOE-controlled areas “remain safe.”
State and federal officials re-entered the site Nov. 11 and confirmed the DOE-controlled Area IV and Northern Buffer Zone were unharmed by fire. Energy Department pictures in the post showed the site of a former sodium research reactor, buildings, and power lines were untouched by the fire.
A multiagency team, which included DTSC personnel, took measurements of hazardous compounds in and around Santa Susana over the weekend. “The results from this initial round of testing showed no radiation levels above background levels, and no elevated levels of hazardous compounds other than those normally present after a wildfire,” Edmondson said.
Nevertheless, the Physicians for Social Responsibility said the fire came within 1,000 yards of the site of the now-dismantled sodium research reactor located on the DOE portion of the SSNL. The reactor was the site of a partial 1959 meltdown, the organization said.
“The reactor was dismantled long ago. The soil however remains highly contaminated, not just from that reactor and its infamous partial meltdown but other activities as well,” Denise Duffield, associate director of PSR-LA, said by email Friday.
The Energy Department used about 472 acres within the 2,800-acre site, including the Energy Technology Engineering Center, for research into nuclear power and liquid metal technology. The federal agency, along with NASA and Boeing, are responsible for cleanup of the Santa Susana site. The DTSC oversees their efforts.
A public comment period ended in October on remediation plans for DOE’s Hazardous Waste Management Facility and the Radioactive Materials Handling Facility within Area IV at Santa Susana.
President Donald Trump has issued a major disaster declaration to help Ventura County, Los Angeles County, and other areas affected by the California wildfires. Governor Jerry Brown filed the disaster declaration on Monday. The move is designed to help local governments and tribes in ongoing emergency response and recovery.
The site at Santa Susana isn’t the only DOE operation feeling the heat from California wildfires. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory sent most of its staff home on Thursday and Friday due to poor air quality from the Camp Fire. As of Friday morning, the Camp Fire had burned 140,000 acres and was linked to 63 fatalities, according to published reports.
