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CBG Files Amicus Brief In Nuclear Cleanup Case

Boeing Had Sued California to Block Cleanup Law for Meltdown Site
Bridge the Gap, the S. Calif. Federation of Scientists, Physicians for Social Responsibility-LA, and the Rocketdyne Cleanup Coalition, represented by Loyola Law School Environmental Law Professor Dan Selmi, filed an amicus brief supporting California's position in a lawsuit brought by Boeing to block SB990, the state law governing cleanup of the contaminated Santa Susana Field Lab.  Click here to read the brief, here for the exhibits, and here for the motion to be admitted as an amicus.  Read the state's brief here.

  • Click here for CBG's Amicus Brief
  • Click here for the appendix to CBG's Amicus Brief
  • Click here for the State of California's opposition to Boeing's Motion for Summary Judgment
Beamhenge Shield Animation
Martin Sheen narrates a 2 minute video for Bridge the Gap on nuclear reactor vulnerability to terrorism, and solutions.
CBG in the News
 
Main Stories
 
Headlines

March 5 2010
Thomas Pigford, influential voice in nuclear policy, dies at 87

January 16 2010
Dump refuses to take Field Lab soil

San Joaquin Valley landfill won't accept Field Lab waste

December 19 2009
Dispute over radioactive dirt going to Calif site. CBG's Dan Hirsch: "a defacto unlicensed radioactive dump at a place not designed for it."

December 5 2009
CBG has issued its annual report, which can be viewed here (pdf).

November 18 2009
Boeing sues over Field Lab cleanup. CBG's Dan Hirsch: Boeing's decision to sue “despicable . . . . The whole thing is just outrageous."

October 18 2009

Boeing fails to launch an agreement, CBG's Dan Hirsch pushes for "transparent process"


September 28 2009
Acreage at field lab declared surplus; sale or transfer is possible

September 1 2009
Human error helped worsen SSFL meltdown

August 22 2009

Santa Susana cleanup deal released

State officials seeking public comment on Santa Susana Field Lab clean up proposal

July 14 2009
Former workers remember Santa Susana meltdown

July 13 2009
LATimes: Marking the 50th anniversary of U.S.'s first nuclear meltdown

June 22 2009
Santa Susans Field Lab pollution hazards endure

May 9 2009
Field Lab Radiation Still a Concern

April 29 2009
$54 million in stimulus funds for Santa Susana Lab site

April 2 2009
Leo Baefsky, longtime Bridge the Gap supporter, witness in UCLA reactor case, dead at 89

March 21 2009

CBG's Dan Hirsch appears on radio program "To The Point" to debate nuclear power.

Listen to the debate here

View the webpage here


February 16 2009
Last Act: Bush ’sign off’ weakened radiation exposure limits

February 7 2009
Runkle response plan comes under fire

January 13 2009
State rejects superfund status at field lab

CBG's Dan Hirsch: “It is a remarkable turn of events.”

Cal-EPA's Linda Adams: "We feel we can complete cleaning faster."

Letter from the state (.pdf)

Group letter (.pdf)




More . . .

 
Bake Sale For Boeing!


February, 2010: Teens Against Toxins, a group of high school students alarmed by the Boeing Company’s refusal to clean up the radioactive and toxic contamination at its Santa Susana Field Lab near where they live, recently held a bake-sale to raise money to be donated to the Boeing Company, which claims a state-ordered cleanup would be a financial burden. The bake sale featured Chocolate Meltdowns and other nuclear-themed treats. The purpose was to raise funds for Boeing, which is suing to avoid complying with a state-ordered cleanup of toxic waste resulting from a 1959 nuclear meltdown at the Santa Susana Field Lab above the San Fernando, Simi and Conejo Valleys. The Boeing Company, which made more than $68.0 billion in 2009, is claiming it would be a financial hardship to have to follow the California law on cleaning up the contamination. Boeing refused to accept the $99.31 raised by the teens, so they donated it to cancer research. Click here to see their YouTube video.
50th Anniversary of LA's Partial Nuclear Meltdown

In July 1959, a reactor in the Los Angeles area suffered a partial meltdown. The Atomic Energy Commission kept the accident secret for decades, until Bridge the Gap was able to bring it to public attention. Fifty years after the extraordinary accident, radioactive and chemical contamination at the site still hasn't been cleaned up. For more information, including access to rare footage and photos of the meltdown, click here.
CBG Leads Effort to Get Obama EPA to
Block Pending Proposals to Relax Radiation Protections

A whole range of proposals left over from the Bush Administration to markedly relax standards for radiation protection remain pending before the new leadership at EPA. In August, CBG led an effort by numerous groups to get the new leadership at EPA to reverse these proposals; see our letter and supporting materials here.

In November, CBG's Dan Hirsch led a delegation to an extraordinary meeting with three Assistant Administrators at EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., to press them to block carryover efforts to allow markedly increased radiation exposures of the public. Dan's PowerPoint presentation to EPA about these very dangerous proposals can be viewed here (powerpoint or a powerpoint presentation viewer is required to view).

Also, Congressman Ed Markey, Chair of the Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment, wrote EPA on October 27, raising many of the issues CBG had put forward. His letter can be viewed here. It remains to be seen whether the Obama Administration, on these issues as on so many others, will in fact represent the change for which so many had hoped.

CBG's Hirsch testifies before U.S. Senate Environment Committee About "Nuclear Amnesia"

September 18 – At the invitation of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, CBG's Dan Hirsch testified in Washington on September 18. Using the history of nuclear accidents, radioactive spills, releases, and broken cleanup promises from the Santa Susana Field Lab as a case study, Hirsch warns that an effort to revive nuclear power risks a huge repeat of the disasters the last we tried this.

Watch pertinent excerpts of the testimony here.

Read his testimony here.
Watch the entire hearing by clicking here.

California Nuke initiative Bites the Dust
"Huge Victory"
tower
November 19 – A proposed ballot measure to revoke California's nuclear safeguards law -- which prohibits new reactors until and unless there is a permanent solution to the high level radioactive waste disposal problem -- was withdrawn from circulation by its sponsor on November 19. Bridge the Gap and other groups had worked hard to fight efforts to place the initiative on the ballot, forcing a recognition that its chances of passage were dismal. "This reversal may represent the beginning of the end for nuclear advocates pushing for a revival of this terribly dangerous technology," said CBG's Dan Hirsch.
CBG's Dan Hirsch Debates Nuclear Power With Chuck DeVore
Hirsch made an appearance on "Inside OC" (see video below) to debunk some of the arguments behind the current push for nuclear power in California. He also appeared on "Life & Times" to discuss the nuclear initiative as well. That video is available here.
Court Victory on SSFL nuke site
ssfl ETECThe U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has just issued its long-awaited decision in the lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy by the Committee to Bridge the Gap, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the City of Los Angeles. The suit was filed over the inadequate cleanup of the contaminated Santa Susana Field Laboratory, site of one of the only reactor meltdowns in the world. Judge Samuel Conti declared that the DOE has violated and continues to violate the National Environmental Policy Act and permanently enjoined DOE from transferring ownership or possession, or otherwise relinquishing control over any portion of the nuclear area at SSFL until an Environmental Impact Statement has been completed.

This is a great news for the environment.

Past Alerts . . .

 

January 16 2010
Stimulus funds aiding companies fined for pollution, accused of fraud

Boeing Reaps Stimulus Millions to Clean Up Site It Was Fined for Polluting

Report: Feds gave Boeing millions to clean up its mess


January 9 2010
Nuclear Energy Prospects Dim, Experts Say

December 19 2009
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Radioactive Longer Than Expected

November 18 2009
EPA Wants to Interview Past Santa Susana Field Lab Workers

Boeing sues state over strict Rocketdyne cleanup law

EPA seeks help for Santa Susana cleanup

September 1 2009
Ruling favors Santa Susana lab workers

August 10 2009
Ruling will help field lab workers

July 14 2009
The Valley's nuclear past

Ex-Field Lab worker returns for meltdown anniversary


50th anniversary of nuclear leak at Santa Susana Field Laboratory
(AUDIO)

July 13 2009
Nuclear reactor accident in 1959 remains vivid for former Field Lab worker

VCStar: Rocketdyne Timeline

June 15 2009
Massive Nuclear Accident Averted By Laundry Worker

June 2 2009
In Finland, Nuclear Renaissance Runs Into Trouble

May 9 2009
Water board waives fines against Boeing

May 2 2009
At the Indian Point Nuclear Plant, a Pipe Leak Raises Concerns

April 6 2009
More compensation sought for Santa Susana field lab workers

April 3 2009
Visions of a state park at lab site

March 21 2009
EPA says federal money will continue to fund field lab public oversight group

March 7 2009
Assistance requested from new head of U.S. EPA

EPA handing off Field Lab duty State to get work group oversight, tab

February 16 2009
Pro-nuclear loan program dropped from stimulus

October 24 2008
Runkle Canyon soil needs more study

July 11 2008
EPA threatens to pull out of SSFL study

May 16 2008
China on alert against quake radiation leakage




More . . .

© Committee to Bridge the Gap 2007
"Bridging the Gap Between Nuclear Dangers and Human Survival"
Send us an Email:contact.cbg@gmail.com
http://www.committeetobridgethegap.org
(831) 336-8003

 


The Committee to Bridge the Gap is a nuclear policy organization focusing on issues regarding nuclear safety, nuclear security, nuclear safeguards, nuclear terrorism, nuclear proliferation, nuclear accidents, and the disposal of nuclear waste. Specifically, Bridge the Gap offers analyses of national issues related to nuclear terrorism at reactors, potential dirty bomb threats, and other radiological threats from terrorist organizations. We also address problems associated with cleanup of radioactive contamination. Bridge the Gap's view is that given current costs and safety concerns, nuclear is not a real solution to our current energy needs or the answer to global warming. We also focus on issues affecting the state of California, including opposing a potential ballot initiative that would overturn California's law establishing a moratorium on new nuclear plants until there is a solution to the high level radioactive waste problem. Bridge the Gap is active in addressing the push by the nuclear industry for a revival of nuclear power in this country, which ignores the host of nuclear proliferation, nuclear terrorism, atomic accident, radioactive waste, and cost problems.