CA toxic waste facility rejects radioactive waste from partial nuclear meltdown site

CA toxic waste facility rejects radioactive waste

KETTLEMAN CITY, Calif. — The largest toxic waste facility in the West has rejected a proposal by Boeing Co. and NASA to accept tainted soil from the site of a partial nuclear meltdown.

The San Joaquin Valley dump,operated by Chemical Waste Management,is not licensed to accept radioactive waste. The dirt was dug up as part of a cleanup effort at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory near Los Angeles where thousands of rockets were tested and a partial meltdown of a nuclear reactor took place in 1959.

Kettleman City residents near the landfill have raised concerns about a recent increase in birth defects and health problems. They are worried more health issues would follow if the landfill accepted the tainted soil.