Overview

In July 26, 1959 a partial meltdown occurred at the Boeing-Rocketdyne nuclear testing facility, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The incident released the third greatest amount of radioactive iodine in nuclear history. But no one really heard about it until Boeing recently settled a class-action suit filed by local residents. The plaintiffs complained of nuclear-related cancers and thyroid abnormalities caused by proximity to the facility (from LOE reference below). The 1959 Sodium Reactor Experiment (SRE) incident was kept secret for decades. The large facility was located at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory.

External Links

• Living On Earth "A Nuclear Incident "Worse Than Three Mile Island""

• Los Angeles City Beat The Sins of Rocketdyne

• Boeing Rocketdyne Worker Health Study

• Ventura County Star '59 nuclear reactor accident remains vivid for former Santa Susana Field Laboratory worker By Teresa Rochester.