Assistance requested from new head of U.S. EPA

Last month, Linda Adams, secretary of the state's Environmental Protection Agency, met with the new U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to ask for the agency's continued funding, guidance and technical support in the cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory.

In a letter delivered to the administrator Feb. 24, Adams reiterated her commitment to the field lab site, calling it a high priority in California. She also requested the EPA provide assistance in four specific areas:

1. Completion of the Radiological Survey of Area IV before the end of 2011 in order to meet the June 2017 target date for cleanup of the site.

2. Advisory assistance on issues regarding radionuclide contamination at the field lab and surrounding properties; access to Superfund radiation experts; and technical support from the EPA's Radiation and Indoor Environments Laboratory in Las Vegas.

3. Continued logistical and financial support for the field lab Interagency Workgroup, which enables the community to communicate with the agencies leading site activities.

4. Assistance in securing adequate funding for DOE and NASA to meet their investigation and cleanup obligations. And, more specifically, that DOE use some of the funds in the recently signed economic stimulus plan to perform its work at the SSFL.