How
it probably happened
Recognized
by Government
Contaminants
on
site.
Reported
contamination by the Environmental Organization Planet Hazard
Site
History
Completed
Activities:
Remediation
Section
Possible
beryllium contamination
Links
to
become informed you about Tetrachloroethylene
Eliminating
CFC-113 And
Methyl
Chloroform In Aircraft.
Maintenance
Procedures
Air
and(6205J)Radiation from the EPA - What the chemicals are used for and
how they are used, etc.
Information
on Ammonium
perchlorate
(AP)
Transcript
from CDC Interview
regarding Atomics International
ICUCEC - Article by By Bill Adamson,
Retired Faculty Member from the U.of S.
Saskatoon, October, 2006
"Since
there is no documentation regarding beryllium decontamination, the
presence of
residual beryllium contamination cannot be ruled out"
1966
AAB-3189 propellant, an RDXadulterated
ammonium perchlorate /PBAN propellant containing 9. 2
weight percent RDX
1967 - CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL AND RADIOLOGICAL
WARFARE
AERIAL BOMBS
background on
teargas
cluster bombs
http://tinyurl.com/yo72n2
Nitroguanidine
The
atomization of a solution of 2, 4-dihydroxy-benzophenone in bis
(2-ethylexyl) hydrogen phosphite.
1962 - Beryllium |
How
it probably happened:
Here
is an article on how the contamination probably occurred. It
is
specific to other locations in California but the same industry: - Note
the visual insert is an effort to clarify how we all are effected by
this issue. The insert does not accompany the article on
Percholates.
http://www.ewg.org/node/8264
Perchlorate contamination of
groundwater is the result of a combination
of processes: manufacturing, rocket and fuel development, testing and
maintenance. In each process, for more than 50 years the chemical
industry, defense contractors or the military disposed of millions of
pounds of perchlorate waste by simply flushing it with high-pressure
water jets. The waste stream was enormous, because if a launch-ready
rocket sits idle for too long, the fuel can go "flat" and hundreds of
thousands of pounds of perchlorate must be replaced with a fresh
supply. A space shuttle rocket motor, for instance, contains about
700,000 pounds of perchlorate. (NASA 1989.) Flushing generates large
volumes of wastewater contaminated with perchlorate at levels up to 1
percent of the total volume. (EPA 1998; EPA 2001c.) For decades, the
wastewater was either allowed to drain directly into the ground or, as
in Sacramento County, pumped into abandoned gold-mining pits. (JAWA
1957.)
"My 27 years
of experience through employment with a federal research
agency (NIOSH) and regulatory agency (OSHA) leads me to conclude that
petrochemical industry representatives and their contractors often
withhold information from the Federal Government and misinterpret
positive study findings by others."
http://losangeles.injuryboard.com/toxic-and-hazardous-substances/
Recognized
by Government Contaminants
Regulatory
Profile
http://www.envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/public/profile_report.asp?global_id=19370366
12200
Bellflower Blvd
Downey,
CA 90242
Get Directions(562)
622-4150
and
9449
Imperial Hwy
Downey, CA 90242
PAST
USE(S)
THAT CAUSED CONTAMINATION |
AEROSPACE
ROCKET TESTING/LAUNCH, AEROSPACE MANUFACTURING/MAINTENANCE,
MANUFACTURING - INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY, RESEARCH - AEROSPACE |
POTENTIAL
CONTAMINANTS OF CONCERN |
ARSENIC - CONFIRMED
TETRACHLOROETHYLENE
(PCE) - CONFIRMED
TRICHLOROETHYLENE
(TCE) - CONFIRMED |
POTENTIAL
MEDIA AFFECTED |
OTHER GROUNDWATER
AFFECTED (USES OTHER THAN DRINKING WATER), SOIL, INDOOR AIR, SOIL
VAPOR |
According
to Google Maps this property
extends from Bellflower Blvd. to Lakewood Blvd, Imperial Blvd. is the
cross street. It is 165
acres. The NASA property was titled under the Lakewood Blvd.
address. Kaiser advertises that they are fronting on the
Bellflower Blvd. side of the property.
Site History:
Until
1929, the 165-acre tract of land that
comprises the former NASA Industrial Plant Site was used for crop
production. After 1929, a conventional aircraft manufacturing facility
was sited on the land. In the 1960's the Site was used for research
development of vehicles suitable for space travel. NASA ceased its
operation at the Site in 1997. In 2002, a Voluntary Cleanup Agreement
was entered into by DTSC and the site proponent, Kaiser Health
Foundation, to conduct a Preliminary Endangerment Assessment for
Parcels II and IV of the Site. These parcels are proposed for a
hospital complex development. Results from the PEA indicated that a VOC
plume from an offsite source was migrating beneath the proposed
hospital complex. In November 2004, DTSC approved the PEA Report
provided that institutional controls be incorporated into the
development. Additionally, the Regional Water Quality Control Board had
implemented a remedy for the offsite VOC plume.
Completed Activities:
|
DOCUMENT
TYPE |
DATE
COMPLETED |
COMMENTS |
|
|
|
|
|
Preliminary
Endangerment Assessment Report
|
11/4/2004
|
VCA |
|
|
|
|
|
Voluntary
Clean-up Agreement |
11/7/2002 |
A
Voluntary Cleanup Agreement was signed by DTSC and Kaiser Health
Foundation on November 7, 2002. The purpose of the VCA is to conduct a
PEA on Parcels II and IV of the Site. Parcels II and IV are being
proposed for hospital complex development. |
|
|
|
|
|
Site
Screening |
1/20/1995 |
Site
was identified from a non-emergency release report dated 12-23-94.
Ground water at the site is contaminated with TCE and PCE. Due to
evidence of a release of hazardous waste, a PEA is required. A letter
of notification has been sent to the contact
person. |
|
|
|
|
Remediation
Section
California Regional Water
Quality Board
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/rwqcb4/html/eo_reports/past_eo/03_1106_eorpt6nov2003.pdf
https://kaiserpapers.com/downey/pdfs/03_1106_eorpt6nov2003.pdf
Remediation
Section
Early
Transfer of Former
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA)
facility to the City of
Downey
John
Geroch
On
September 15, 2003
Governor Davis approved the
early transfer of Parcels 1 and
2 of the former National
Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) facility to the City of Downey (City). The
approval of the early
transfer allows the City to take
possession of the facility and
begin expedited cleanup of
remaining soil and
groundwater contamination and
initiate redevelopment of the
former facility. In a press
release Governor Davis
stated
"This
transfer is good for the environment and good for the Southland's
economy,…..Overcoming the final
hurdle for this transfer paves
the way for the creation of at
least 4,000 new quality jobs
and accelerates the cleanup of
precious groundwater resources."
On October 1, 2003,
Winston Hickox, Secretary for
Environmental Protection
visited the former NASA
facility. Mr. Hickox conducted a tour of the facility and was informed about the proposed
redevelopment which
includes a movies studio, retail center and new Kaiser hospital to serve the
surrounding community.
Soil remediation is
about 80% complete. A groundwater remediation action plan has
been approved by the Regional
Board staff. Groundwater
remediation is expected to begin
early 2004.
Possible beryllium
contamination
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas/pdfs/tbd/rescon/appen-b3.pdf
DOE ES&H Website:
The Atomics
International
Division of North American Aviation is a statutory beryllium vendor under the EEOICPA.
Atomics International worked with beryllium and radioactive materials under contract with
the Atomic Energy Commission at numerous locations. These locations include, but are not
necessarily limited to, Area IV of the Santa Susana Field
Laboratory,
portions of the
Downey facility, the Vanowen Building at the Canoga facility and the De Soto facility.
A
beryllium inventory dated 1949 and a document dealing with beryllium
hazards was all that could be found. It could not be determined if the
beryllium activities for the contract work were conducted in separate
parts of the facility away from work for other customers. Even though
DOE remediation ended in 1999, there is no indication this included
beryllium
decontamination.
Telephone
conversations with
current company officials (Boeing Company) provided the following
information: (1) beryllium work involved research for and production of
beryllium reflectors at three different sites—(a) Vanowen
Building (#38)-demolished in 2004; (b) DeSoto Avenue Building
(#101)-demolished in 2004; and Santa Susana site-most buildings
demolished over the years; (2) no records were provided about beryllium
decontamination; and (3) current remediation mainly deals with sodium.
Since
there is no documentation regarding beryllium decontamination, the
presence of residual beryllium contamination cannot be ruled out.
Links
to
become informed you about Tetrachloroethylene
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts18.html
Agency
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp18.html
http://en.wikipedia.info/wiki/Tetrachloroethylene
http://www.dhs.ca.gov/OHB/HESIS/perc.htm
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/tet-ethy.html
Transcript from CDC
Interview regarding Atomics International
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas/pdfs/tbd/outreach/wom041906.pdf
Mr. Meiners
continued: The Site Description includes radiation doses
received at four areas for
the years specified:
• De Soto Avenue from 1959
– 1998.
• Area IV from 1954 – 1999.
• Vanowen Building from
1954 – 1960.
• Downey Site from 1948 –
1955.
Question:
The Downey
Site… Was that in Downey, California, or is that
in Santa
Susana?
Response (from
another Council member):
The Downey
facility was where they are building the new
Kaiser-Permanente hospital.
Response:
That is in the
middle of our area.
Mel Chew:
I will be talking about
that. There will be some minor changes in the
Site Profile regarding these
different facilities.
The
Medical Dose section describes the medical
X-ray programs that were
in place during the
contract periods. This section discusses which workers may have
received radiation exposure
from medical X-rays required as a condition of their employment, as
well as the frequency and
types of X-rays that were regularly required, and how the medical
program changed over time. If
site-specific information on the frequency of X-ray examinations is not
available, NIOSH
assumes one chest X-ray per
employee per year for dose reconstruction
purposes.
Question:
Would X-rays that are part
of
physical examination not required by an
employer be considered?
Steve
Meiners:
No,
only X-rays that are required as a condition of employment are
included. The
Environmental Dose section is included to consider the sources of
radiation in the workplace
for workers who were not monitored in the dosimetry and/or bioassay
programs. Internal
environmental doses are based on air monitoring data from the four
facilities for specific
radionuclides during specific periods of time. The internal
environmental dose also considers
inadvertent soil ingestion for strontium-90 and plutonium-239 for the
DeSoto Avenue facility
from 1959-1999 and for Area IV from 1954-1999; and accounts for
inadvertent soil ingestion of
strontium-90 only for the Vanowen Building from 1954-1960 and the
Downey Site from 1952 -1956.
External environmental doses are based on annual external doses
for the four different
facilities for specific periods of time. The external environmental
doses are calculated from
measured data from 1975-1999, and are estimated from 1952-1974.
Comment:
You would be
surprised how many construction workers wind up sitting on
the ground while
they are eating their lunch.
Reported contamination by the Environmental
Organization Planet Hazard:
Aerojet
Total Emissions |
70,821.12 |
Methylene Chloride |
45,240.00 |
Methyl Chloroform |
25,340.00 |
Hydrochloric Acid |
144.00 |
Formaldehyde |
31.40 |
Toluene |
22.60 |
Xylenes (Mixture
of o, m, and p Isomers) |
16.80 |
Nickel |
8.26 |
Ethyl Benzene |
4.40 |
Benzene |
4.20 |
Selenium |
3.18 |
Chromium (VI) |
2.56 |
Vinyl Chloride |
1.41 |
Lead |
0.56 |
Naphthalene |
0.35 |
Cadmium |
0.32 |
Arsenic |
0.28 |
Beryllium |
0.14 |
Manganese |
0.14 |
Chromium |
0.10 |
Dibenzo[a,h]Anthracene |
0.04 |
Benz[a]Anthracene |
0.04 |
Indeno[1,2,3-c,d]Pyrene |
0.04 |
Anthracene |
0.04 |
Dibenzofuran |
0.04 |
Benzo[a]Pyrene |
0.04 |
Benzo[b]Fluoranthene |
0.04 |
Benzo[k]Fluoranthene |
0.04 |
Chrysene |
0.04 |
Mercury |
0.02 |
Polychlorinated
Dibenzofurans, Total |
0.00 |
Dioxins |
0.00 |
1,2,3,7,8-Pentachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin |
0.00 |
1,2,3,4,6,7,8-Heptachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin |
0.00 |
1,2,3,4,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzofuran |
0.00 |
2,3,4,7,8-Pentachlorodibenzofuran |
0.00 |
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzofuran |
0.00 |
1,2,3,6,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzofuran |
0.00 |
1,2,3,7,8-Pentachlorodibenzofuran |
0.00 |
2,3,4,6,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzofuran |
0.00 |
1,2,3,4,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin |
0.00 |
1,2,3,4,6,7,8-Heptachlorodibenzofuran |
0.00 |
1,2,3,6,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin |
0.00 |
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin |
0.00 |
1,2,3,7,8,9-Hexachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin |
0.00 |
1,2,3,4,7,8,9-Heptachlorodibenzofuran |
0.00 |
1,2,3,7,8,9-Hexachlorodibenzofuran |
Boeing
Company at Downey Facility
Total Emissions |
24,798.00 |
Methyl Chloroform |
23,068.00 |
Glycol Ethers |
727.00 |
Nitrogen Oxides |
440.00 |
Toluene |
261.00 |
Methanol |
189.00 |
Xylenes (Mixture
of o, m, and p Isomers) |
58.00 |
Carbon Monoxide |
40.00 |
Benzene |
15.00 |
Primary PM10,
Filterable Portion Only |
0.00 |
Primary PM2.5,
Filterable Portion Only |
0.00 |
Sulfur Dioxide |
0.00 |
Volatile Organic
Compounds |
http://www.planethazard.com/phmapenv.aspx?mode=topten&area=city&state=CA&placefip=0619766
http://www.planethazard.com/phabout.aspx
ICUCEC
- Article by By Bill Adamson, Retired Faculty Member from the
U.of S. Saskatoon, October, 2006
The USA has seven factories manufacturing depleted uranium ammunition
at Paducah , Ohio ; Portsmouth , Kentucky ; Oak Ridge , Tennesee;
Aerojet Ordnance at Downey , Calif. ; Honeywell at Hopkins , Minnesota
; and Alliant Techsystems in Edina , Minnesota . Many planes,
helicopters, tanks, ships, and missiles use this radioactive material
(15). A Japanese physicist, Dr. Katsumaa Yakasaki, has estimated that
the radiation fallout from weapons testing and the use of depleted
uranium munitions, amounts to the fallout from 400,000 Nagasaki bombs
(16).
http://www.icucec.org
Article mirrored at:
http://politicsnpoetry.wordpress.com/2006/11/17/the-problem-with-nuclear-part-i/
FACILITY
NAME:
Atomics International
Los Angeles
County, California
ALSO
KNOWN AS:
Energy Systems Group
TIME
PERIOD:
1955-1966
FACILITY
DESCRIPTION:
DOE
ES&H Website:
The Atomics
International Division of North
American Aviation is a statutory beryllium vendor under the EEOICPA.
Atomics
International worked with beryllium and radioactive materials under
contract
with the Atomic Energy Commission at numerous locations. These
locations
include, but are not necessarily limited to, Area IV of the Santa
Susana Field
Laboratory, portions of the Downey facility, the Vanowen Building at
the Canoga
facility and the De Soto facility.
DISCUSSION:
A beryllium
inventory dated 1949 and a document dealing with
beryllium hazards was all that could be found.
It could not be determined if the beryllium activities for the contract
work were conducted in separate parts of the facility away from work
for other
customers. Even though DOE remediation ended in 1999, there is no
indication
this included beryllium decontamination.
Telephone
conversations with current company officials (Boeing
Company) provided the following information: (1) beryllium work
involved
research for and production of beryllium reflectors at three different
sites—(a)
Vanowen Building (#38)-demolished in 2004; (b) DeSoto Avenue Building
(#101)-demolished in 2004; and Santa Susana site-most buildings
demolished over
the years; (2) no records were provided about beryllium
decontamination; and
(3) current remediation mainly deals with sodium.
Since there
is no documentation regarding beryllium
decontamination, the presence of residual beryllium contamination
cannot be
ruled out.
INFORMATIONAL
SOURCES:
Sources of
information reviewed during this evaluation, as
shown above, included the DOE ES&H Website, documentation
provided by the DOE
ES&H group consisting of written communications by or for the
DOE, and
contact with current company officials.
EVALUATION
FINDINGS:
Documentation
reviewed indicates there is a potential for
significant residual beryllium contamination outside the periods in
which
weapons-related production occurred.
PERIOD
OF
POTENTIAL RESIDUAL CONTAMINATION:
1967-present
http://www.whistleblower.org/doc/A/AppendixB-3.doc
|