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| Runkledyne Arsenic |
Rocketdyne faults leads to Runkle
Put on your science hats, everybody! "Perchlorate Patty" is going to show you where Runkle Canyon's arsenic could be coming from:
Rocketdyne!
We already know that there is an 11-acre drainage leading off of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory's "Area IV" where the meltdowns and
nuclear spills and accidents occurred. What we didn't know, until the Radiation Rangers went and tested for themselves, was that Runkle
Canyon's creek water was loaded with arsenic, nickel and vanadium.
But how did it get there? We know from a September 2005 Boeing report, on page 22 of this 271-page document, that Rocketdyne had
125 arsenic detections out of 645 samples in this summary of metals in SSFL groundwater. The readings ranged from 0.12 parts per
billion (ppb) to 320 ppb. The Runkle Canyon water we tested was 150 ppb.
Looking at the above hydro-geologic map, it seems that the arsenic in the Rocketdyne groundwater could have migrated along the
Skyline Fault, running horizontally across the bottom of the map, to the fault headed towards Runkle Canyon, running vertically along the
left-hand side of the map.
If Rocketdyne's migrating groundwater is the source of the arsenic in Runkle Canyon, then how did the groundwater get so toxic? We
know from the 2004 LA CityBeat article, "Blinded by the Light," that in at least three sites on Rocketdyne had major detections of arsenic
in the soil. At an SSFL landfill location, with construction debris and soil/rock fill disposal, arsenic was detected in 69/75 samples, 7
registering over the "field action level" (FAL), a Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) standard where further investigation is
warranted. At Building 359, arsenic was detected in 93/103 samples, 21 over the FAL. Arsenic readings in the northern part of the
ironically-named Happy Valley section of Rocketdyne’s massive 2,850-acre mountaintop complex were detected in 79 out of 80 soil
samples with 63 of them being over the field action level.
It is worth noting that arsenic appears naturally in the environment which begs the question: is the arsenic in Runkle Canyon "natural"?
Another September 2005 Boeing report, "SOIL BACKGROUND REPORT -- SANTA SUSANA FIELD LABORATORY -- VENTURA COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA --FINAL" seems to suggest that the arsenic is not natural.
On page 54 of this 68-page report, in Table 4-3 (1 of 2), is the "Summary of Soil Background Data -- Santa Susana Field Laboratory." In
that table, it shows that arsenic was detected in 33 out of 38 samples, or 87% of the time, and the detections ranged from 1,700 ppb -
15,000 ppb with an "arithmetic mean" of 4,400 ppb, meaning that half the detections are above the mean, and half below it. Remember
that the Runkle Canyon soil arsenic was 34 mg/kg, or 34,000 ppb. That high number is 7.7 times the arithmetic mean reading of
Rocketdyne's polluted soil! By comparison, look at the "California Benchmark Soils -- Kearney Study March 1996" on page 50 of 68 at the
bottom of Table 4-1, which is 3,500 ppb for arsenic, meaning that the Runkle mud is 9.7 times the State's arithmetic mean!
That's a hell of a lot of arsenic! So what is the State supposed to do when confronted with such astronomical numbers? On page 5-1 of
this same report, or page 38/68 of the PDF, there is a section of this Rocketdyne report that is called "USES OF THE SOIL
BACKGROUND DATA SET" which makes perfectly clear what should happen:
"5.1 COMPARISON FOR INVESTIGATIONAL UNIT CHARACTERIZATION
The comprehensive background metals, dioxins, fluoride, and pH data sets will be used to guide investigational unit characterization
decisions (e.g., additional step-out sampling). Metals, fluoride and pH data collected from investigational units will be directly compared to
background data set concentrations to determine whether soil at a given location contains concentrations above ambient background.
The concentration of each metal in the investigational unit data will be evaluated against the soil background comparison value
developed from the final background data set (see Table 4-6).
If a metal concentration in the investigational unit data is below this soil background comparison value, no further characterization would
be required unless multiple lines of evidence suggest the site data set is incomplete and additional sampling warranted. Lines of evidence
to be considered include: site operations/history, soil and groundwater sampling data trends, and risk-based standards. If the metal
concentration in the investigational unit data exceed the soil background comparison value, further evaluation will be necessary to
determine whether site characterization is complete. As discussed with DTSC, this includes evaluating other site information (historical
operations, sampling data trends, and risk assessment findings) in a best professional judgement approach to making decisions
regarding additional sampling needs (DTSC 2005)."
That means that the Department of Substances Control is supposed to investigate the extraordinary high readings of arsenic in Runkle
Canyon. Even though the City has offered to test the gooey water and dirt themselves, it is the DTSC who must be notified and who must
come in and determine what we have determined already here: this gross amount of pollution coming from Rocketdyne must be dealt with
as it is a public health threat. It is incumbent upon the City to DEMAND that the DTSC become involved and to BREAK the phony Runkle
Canyon Environmental Report and start from scratch creating another one! Better yet, the City should halt this disasterous development!
Put on your science hats, everybody! "Perchlorate Patty" is going to show you where Runkle Canyon's arsenic could be coming from:
Rocketdyne!
We already know that there is an 11-acre drainage leading off of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory's "Area IV" where the meltdowns and
nuclear spills and accidents occurred. What we didn't know, until the Radiation Rangers went and tested for themselves, was that Runkle
Canyon's creek water was loaded with arsenic, nickel and vanadium.
But how did it get there? We know from a September 2005 Boeing report, on page 22 of this 271-page document, that Rocketdyne had
125 arsenic detections out of 645 samples in this summary of metals in SSFL groundwater. The readings ranged from 0.12 parts per
billion (ppb) to 320 ppb. The Runkle Canyon water we tested was 150 ppb.
Looking at the above hydro-geologic map, it seems that the arsenic in the Rocketdyne groundwater could have migrated along the
Skyline Fault, running horizontally across the bottom of the map, to the fault headed towards Runkle Canyon, running vertically along the
left-hand side of the map.
If Rocketdyne's migrating groundwater is the source of the arsenic in Runkle Canyon, then how did the groundwater get so toxic? We
know from the 2004 LA CityBeat article, "Blinded by the Light," that in at least three sites on Rocketdyne had major detections of arsenic
in the soil. At an SSFL landfill location, with construction debris and soil/rock fill disposal, arsenic was detected in 69/75 samples, 7
registering over the "field action level" (FAL), a Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) standard where further investigation is
warranted. At Building 359, arsenic was detected in 93/103 samples, 21 over the FAL. Arsenic readings in the northern part of the
ironically-named Happy Valley section of Rocketdyne’s massive 2,850-acre mountaintop complex were detected in 79 out of 80 soil
samples with 63 of them being over the field action level.
It is worth noting that arsenic appears naturally in the environment which begs the question: is the arsenic in Runkle Canyon "natural"?
Another September 2005 Boeing report, "SOIL BACKGROUND REPORT -- SANTA SUSANA FIELD LABORATORY -- VENTURA COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA --FINAL" seems to suggest that the arsenic is not natural.
On page 54 of this 68-page report, in Table 4-3 (1 of 2), is the "Summary of Soil Background Data -- Santa Susana Field Laboratory." In
that table, it shows that arsenic was detected in 33 out of 38 samples, or 87% of the time, and the detections ranged from 1,700 ppb -
15,000 ppb with an "arithmetic mean" of 4,400 ppb, meaning that half the detections are above the mean, and half below it. Remember
that the Runkle Canyon soil arsenic was 34 mg/kg, or 34,000 ppb. That high number is 7.7 times the arithmetic mean reading of
Rocketdyne's polluted soil! By comparison, look at the "California Benchmark Soils -- Kearney Study March 1996" on page 50 of 68 at the
bottom of Table 4-1, which is 3,500 ppb for arsenic, meaning that the Runkle mud is 9.7 times the State's arithmetic mean!
That's a hell of a lot of arsenic! So what is the State supposed to do when confronted with such astronomical numbers? On page 5-1 of
this same report, or page 38/68 of the PDF, there is a section of this Rocketdyne report that is called "USES OF THE SOIL
BACKGROUND DATA SET" which makes perfectly clear what should happen:
"5.1 COMPARISON FOR INVESTIGATIONAL UNIT CHARACTERIZATION
The comprehensive background metals, dioxins, fluoride, and pH data sets will be used to guide investigational unit characterization
decisions (e.g., additional step-out sampling). Metals, fluoride and pH data collected from investigational units will be directly compared to
background data set concentrations to determine whether soil at a given location contains concentrations above ambient background.
The concentration of each metal in the investigational unit data will be evaluated against the soil background comparison value
developed from the final background data set (see Table 4-6).
If a metal concentration in the investigational unit data is below this soil background comparison value, no further characterization would
be required unless multiple lines of evidence suggest the site data set is incomplete and additional sampling warranted. Lines of evidence
to be considered include: site operations/history, soil and groundwater sampling data trends, and risk-based standards. If the metal
concentration in the investigational unit data exceed the soil background comparison value, further evaluation will be necessary to
determine whether site characterization is complete. As discussed with DTSC, this includes evaluating other site information (historical
operations, sampling data trends, and risk assessment findings) in a best professional judgement approach to making decisions
regarding additional sampling needs (DTSC 2005)."
That means that the Department of Substances Control is supposed to investigate the extraordinary high readings of arsenic in Runkle
Canyon. Even though the City has offered to test the gooey water and dirt themselves, it is the DTSC who must be notified and who must
come in and determine what we have determined already here: this gross amount of pollution coming from Rocketdyne must be dealt with
as it is a public health threat. It is incumbent upon the City to DEMAND that the DTSC become involved and to BREAK the phony Runkle
Canyon Environmental Report and start from scratch creating another one! Better yet, the City should halt this disasterous development!
Red fault lines cut through Rocketdyne's heavily polluted lab in this east to west view. Note fault running
vertically on the left side of the map leading directly into Runkle Canyon just beyond highlighted area in the
dark green. This crack in the earth may be the reason Runkle's surface water seeps are so high in
arsenic.
vertically on the left side of the map leading directly into Runkle Canyon just beyond highlighted area in the
dark green. This crack in the earth may be the reason Runkle's surface water seeps are so high in
arsenic.