PSR-LA has been involved in efforts to clean up SSFL for over 40 years. We serve as advisors and partners to Parents vs. SSFL, an organization founded by parents of children with cancer who live near the site and are founding members of the Rocketdyne Cleanup Coalition and the SSFL Work Group. 

SSFL is a former nuclear reactor and rocket testing facility located in the hills above the San Fernando and Simi valleys. Nuclear work continued until 1989 when it was stopped due to pressure from the Rocketdyne Cleanup Coalition. Rocket engine testing and other aerospace work continued until 2006. These activities left the site highly polluted with nuclear and chemical contaminants that pose a threat to public health. 

Several studies indicate increased cancers associated with proximity to SSFL. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NASA finally signed a cleanup agreement with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to clean up background levels of contaminants. The Boeing Company, which owns the largest portion of the site, refused to sign the agreement, but DTSC said it would hold Boeing to strict cleanup standards. 

Today, after concerted greenwashing efforts by Boeing and others and a back-door settlement agreement between Boeing and DTSC, those cleanup commitments have been abandoned, and DTSC plans to allow the polluters to leave most of the site contaminated. PSR-LA and our community allies continue to fight for the full cleanup. Learn more about this epic struggle in the Emmy-nominated documentary “In the Dark of the Valley”. For more information or to get involved, please contact Denise Duffield, Associate Director.