(April 2, 2007) -- Saying it's committed to safe development of the Douglas Park project, the Boeing Co. has announced that it's "in the process of the process of developing a sampling plan with State agency involvement to address the recent concerns raised related to the use of depleted uranium counterweights in aircraft assembled at the former C-1 Facility."
LBReport.com posts the text of Boeing's statement below.
The action comes after 5th district Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske agendized an item at the March 13 City Council meeting (passed 5-1, DeLong dissenting) asking the City Manager for a report within thirty days on whether or not the Douglas Park Environmental Impact Report (EIR) "included testing the soil and groundwater for uranium and cadmium (which was coated on the trim weights to prevent corrosion) and the results of these tests ; and...[c]onfirmation from Boeing that this radioactive material and other heavy metals were completely remediated from the soil, sufficient to safely allow residential development on top of the soil."
Councilwoman Schipske (in whose 5th Council district the site is located) noted in a release that she'd also met with Boeing officials to "urge that specific sampling be done to determine whether or not soil or groundwater was contaminated with depleted uranium as a result of Douglas having used this heavy metal as counterweights in aircraft."
In her release, Councilwoman Schipske said, "Today [April 2], I received a communication from Steve Chesser of Boeing stating that the company is in the process of developing a sampling plan with State Agency involvement to address the recent concerns raised related to the use of depleted uranium counterweights in aircraft assembled at the former C-1 facility. I want to commend Boeing for its prompt action on this important issue."
Boeing's statement text follows:
Response to Request of the City Council of the City of Long Beach:
The Boeing Company (Boeing) is committed to safe development of the Douglas
Park project. Boeing is in the process of developing a sampling plan
with State agency involvement to address the recent concerns raised related
to the use of depleted uranium counterweights in aircraft assembled at the former
C-1 Facility.
This sampling plan will be based on a review of historical processes
at the facility. A meeting has been scheduled with the California Regional Water
Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region and the Los Angeles County
Department of Health Services, Radiation Management unit on April 4, 2007.
A status update will be provided to the City Council after this meeting.
Boeing is dedicated to completing the appropriate action in a timely manner with agency
involvement and oversight.
It is currently anticipated that several weeks will be required to outline the sampling plan elements and obtain conceptual agreement from the involved agencies. At that time, an implementation plan and schedule will be communicated to the City Council.
Councilwoman Schipske says she brought the "depleted uranium" issue to the Council and to Boeing following a story published in the Beachcomber.
