Letters to the editor: Expediate Santa Susana site cleanup; what Dems should do

Ventura County Star
·2 min read
State officials are collecting feedback on the cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory site.

Boeing needs to step up cleanup

In May 2022, the state of California found Boeing responsible for cleaning the toxic site of the former Santa Susana Field Laboratory. While it’s true that every single person that lives in Simi Valley will not end up with cancer due to these environmental toxins, you can’t deny that the people that live in the area surrounding the site do have increased percentages of multiple types of cancer, which can be directly connected to toxins.

According to WebMD Health News, “residents living within 2 miles of the Santa Susana Field Lab actually had a 60% higher cancer incidence rate and that over 1,500 workers have been diagnosed with cancer just from the Santa Susana Field Lab.”

These toxins have been in the soil since 1959, and they are not going away without proper removal and cleanup. Every storm creates runoff that mobilizes those toxins and increases the radionuclides and other contaminants in the groundwater supply. Boeing needs to hurry up and get to work on cleaning the area so that future generations can have a safe and clean environment. They need to ensure that the soil and the runoff water from rainstorms being added to the groundwater supply won’t be polluted with radionuclides.

We already know that they are going to be cleaning up this mess eventually, but when and how long will this whole process take?

Will the residents living around the site be exposed to more contaminants during the cleanup process?

Is there anything we can do to help move this process along faster to prevent the increasing and spreading of these toxins being added to our groundwater supply?

Someone needs to step up and ensure that things will be done the right way, for the citizens of Simi Valley.

Gavin Oxley, Simi Valley

A plan for the Democrats

OK, Democrats, here’s what you do. Biden resigns. Harris becomes president, chooses Liz Cheney as vice president. Republicans go crazy. The country returns to a normal function. Trump does not get elected and everyone lives happily ever after.

Gary Sparks, Camarillo

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Letters: Expediate Santa Susana site cleanup; what Dems should do