Concerned about contamination from the field lab

*Editor's Note: The following letters were submitted by seniors from Santa Susana High School as part of an assignment from their government teacher, Matt Long. Students were asked to find an issue they care about and to write in and have their voice heard on that issue.

It is a concern to me that those toxins from the nuclear meltdown that occurred here in Simi Valley in 1959 are still contaminating soil and groundwater in our community and from the dumping of rocket fuel.

Dirt makes a great filter to process chemicals and hazardous materials, but that takes decades to filter, and it still has not been completely removed from the ground. Now condos are going to be built on that very same soil for the elderly and low-income personnel.

This is not an ethical act, and it shouldn't happen. Land developers are going to make the land nice, and there are going to be beautiful walkways and parks, but who is to say that the radiation deep in the ground won't continue to give off radiation that causes harmful cancers.

All-in-all, I think that there should be more tests done around that area for any kind of harmful radiation that is deep in the soil and inform the residents of the dangers before they move into their homes. Xavier Chapman Simi Valley

Many years after the SSFL meltdown, it seems quite unfair that the data has been kept from the public.

Toxic waste and radiation could still be all about the area, and some of these scientific files have been deliberately kept in secret. The radioactivity released from the area could have caused some of the citizens' cancer and other diseases.

Even today you can find mutated creatures all around the area that have suffered over this mistake. Since the meltdown was around 1959, I think all information should be disclosed and the area cleaned over many times, and even now the area being approved "clean" is dangerous to humans and wildlife.

New studies should be conducted to find relevant data that can help people and even contractors from buying the land and building houses on it. It would be completely unethical to do such a thing let alone not disclose information that is important to Simi Valley residents. Brianda Gallegos Simi Valley