Legislative Panel to Probe Rocketdyne Study
VENTURA — A state legislative committee will investigate whether the Department of Health Services worked with Rocketdyne to suppress a cancer survey of the community surrounding the company’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory, officials said.
Assemblyman Scott Wildman (D-Los Angeles), who heads the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, said the investigation will center on whether health officials conspired with Rocketdyne to bury the 1997 cancer study that showed a 15% higher than normal incidence of lung cancer in the area.
The report was made public two weeks ago by another legislator who received a copy from activists, who in turn obtained a copy through a public records search.
The investigation by Wildman’s committee will be part of a broader probe looking into a number of potential problems that have surfaced at the health agency in recent years.
“Clearly there is an arguable case that the Department of Health Services has not been accountable or responsible to the will of the Legislature,” Wildman said.
The 2,600-acre Rocketdyne complex near Simi Valley has been the site of decades of nuclear and chemical research.
Wildman’s announcement came days after the state Department of Health Services vowed to launch a probe by an independent agency into the allegations.
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