Recent News

Fierce lobbying caps fight over California nuke plant future (AP)

CBGAug 31, 20221 min read

“Lawmakers have questioned why Newsom dropped the text of his legislation just days before the end of the Legislature’s two-year session on Wednesday, saying it provided virtually no time to carefully review it. Daniel Hirsch, retired director of the program…

SLO Mothers for Peace lay out opposition to possible extension of Diablo Canyon operations (KSBY)

CBGAug 31, 20221 min read

“Daniel Hirsch, President of the Committee to Bridge the Gap, claimed that the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant was built near four different fault lines, including the Shoreline fault which lies less than half a mile away from the plant. Hirsch…

Santa Susana activists, residents slam Regional Water Board’s agreement with Boeing: ‘Huge tragedy’ (LA Daily News)

CBGAug 16, 20221 min read

“On Monday, Hirsch called the approval of the new memorandum ‘a tragedy.’ ‘When they voted on the MOU — which was horrible in its own way — it made effective the larger deal with Boeing to let them have vastly…

Did California give Boeing a pass on a major pollution cleanup? (LA Times)

CBGAug 11, 20221 min read

Read Michael Hiltzik’s new column on the SSFL.

San Francisco Civil Grand Jury Releases Report on HPNS and Climate Change

CBGMay 31, 20221 min read

Read the report, Buried Problems and a Buried Process: The Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in a Time of Climate Change, here.

State’s new deal to clean up radioactive Santa Susana Field Lab is slammed by critics (LA Daily News)

CBGMay 11, 20227 min read

“Nearly 15 years ago the Boeing Company and the state agency that oversees cleanup of the radioactively and chemically polluted Santa Susana Field Lab signed an agreement that asked Boeing to clean up its portion of the site once known…

State Announces Clean Up For Contaminated Nuclear Site, Which Advocates Call ‘A Back Room Deal’ (NBC4)

CBGMay 10, 20223 min read

“The state on Monday announced an agreement with the Boeing Corporation to clean up a large part of one of California’s most contaminated sites–the Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL)–located in the hills above the San Fernando and Simi Valleys. In…

Safety questions arise as Los Alamos National Laboratory pursues pit production

CBGMay 9, 20221 min read

“There’s no safe level of radiation,” Hirsch said. “The issue is how dangerous is acceptable. The whole game is that they are allowing extraordinarily high levels of radiation exposure.” Read the full article from the Santa Fe New Mexican here.

In Memoriam: Joe Maizlish – War Resister, Gentle Soul, Dear Friend

CBGMar 21, 20221 min read

Joe Maizlish—war resister, gentle soul, and dear friend of Bridge the Gap—died March 16, 2022. While a graduate student in history at UCLA in 1968, to protest the Vietnam War, Joe gave up his draft deferment and publicly refused induction.…

Rare Pediatric Cancers Persist 63 Years After Nuclear Accident (WebMD)

CBGMar 11, 20221 min read

Read the full WebMD News Brief on the Santa Susana Field Lab here.

Can the California Dept. of Toxic Substances Control be trusted to clean up vulnerable communities? (Sacramento News & Review)

CBGMar 2, 20221 min read

“More than a dozen former DTSC officials, key environmental figures and impacted community members outlined to Capital & Main what they see as serious ongoing issues within the department unaddressed in the reforms. They include a flawed approach to the…