Due to community pressure, the federal government announced last
week that it will test the Brentwood Barrington Dog Park and
surrounding area for radioactive medical waste.
From 1952 to 1968, UCLA and Veterans Administration researchers
buried waste in the park, including gloves, lab glass and animal
carcasses that were exposed to radiation as part of experiments on
the biological effects of radiation on plants, animals and
humans.
The VA announced it hired the Millennium Consulting Associates
to conduct the study. Michael Noel, president of the company, told
the Los Angeles Times that it is most important to find out exactly
what and how much material was buried, and when. He added that he
believes this information will be hard to find because very few
records remain before 1970 since extensive documentation was not
required.
The VA could not be reached for comment Tuesday or
Wednesday.
Michael Collins, a reporter for Los Angeles CityBeat who has
spent several years investigating the site, said he has found
evidence that the waste poses a great risk to the community.
“Barrington Dog Park and nearby MacArthur field are used
by many people every day,” He said. “Hundreds of kids
use MacArthur field to play soccer. They kick balls into the center
of the dump and chase it. That’s a clear and immediate danger
to public health.”
During his investigation, Collins dug up glass from the area,
and by using a nuclear radiation monitor found that it was four
times more radioactive than normal glass, he said. Collins also
said he is glad the VA has commissioned a study and believes the
investigation will be reliable.
“We’re happy that they’re doing this
study,” Collins said. “Of course we will look closely
at what they discover and what methods they use. But my initial
feeling is that it’s a good idea.”
The VA is spending a large amount of money on the investigation,
including acquiring his findings, Collins said.
But some have questioned the validity of the study because it
was commissioned by the VA.
“I have no confidence in it,” said Dan Hirsch,
president of The Committee to Bridge the Gap, a non-profit
organization that focuses on nuclear policy issues.
Hirsch said he believes an independent study should be done
instead to ensure that there is no conflict of interest.
Collins brought up the issue of radiation in Brentwood in May
when he wrote an article about the radioactive waste.
UCLA students taking a class Hirsch was teaching at UCLA in 1979
first discovered that researchers had dumped radioactive waste in
Brentwood.
At the time, the students believed federal agencies had failed
to appropriately address significant environmental issues, so they
decided to find out information on their own. They contacted
nuclear facilities around Los Angeles, and the VA gave the students
records of materials dumped, Hirsch said.
The Committee to Bridge the Gap concluded its own investigation
in 1981 and found toxic chemicals in the area. In the early 1980s
the VA negotiated with the city of Los Angeles to convert the
property into a park, but did not disclose information about the
radioactive waste to the city, Hirsch said.
The committee then raised the issue, but after the federal
Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the property posed no health
risks, the park was built, according to the Los Angeles Times.
After hearing about this, Collins looked at Atomic Energy
Commission reports detailing experiments that took place at UCLA
and the VA from 1948 to 1964. Along with the article, Collins
started a Web site that details the results of his
investigation.
“I started the Web site so readers and the government
could see we had our facts straight,” he said.
Collins said he has seen a change in the VA’s attitude
towards an investigation since he first addressed the issue.
“I initially ran into a lot of resistance from the
Veterans Administration,” Collins said. “But after
government pressure from local officials, such as City Councilman
Bill Rosendahl and the results of my investigation, the VA had a
change of heart.”
Collins said he has high hopes for the study.
“The VA’s investigation will take a new look at the
facts and hopefully test it thoroughly,” Collins said.