Relenting to community concerns, the federal government announced this week it will perform tests on a Brentwood dog park and nearby grounds where Veterans Administration and UCLA researchers buried radioactive medical waste during the Cold War.
The decision comes after environmentalists and community activists spent years researching the activities, saying they found higher than average levels of radiation at the park and a nearby athletic field -- used by the exclusive Brentwood School -- as well as in nearby canyons and ravines.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Friday December 01, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 65 words Type of Material: Correction
Brentwood park testing: Two photo captions accompanying an article in Thursday's California section about underground dumping on federal property on the Westside of Los Angeles incorrectly implied that the photos showed workers doing testing at a Brentwood dog park and athletic field. The workers were taking sample tests on a nearby property that could be compared to the tests conducted at the park and field.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday December 06, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 61 words Type of Material: Correction
Brentwood dump: A story in the Nov. 30 California section said a study offering new details on a former nuclear dump at the Barrington Dog Park and surrounding areas in Brentwood was conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The study was conducted by MicroTech LLC, a separate company hired by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and its findings were contained in PricewaterhouseCoopers' broader report.
They believe the charred carcasses of animals used in radiation experiments, as well as barrels of radioactive tritium and other toxic chemicals, are underground.
Veterans Affairs officials said this week that they doubt harmful levels of radioactivity will be found, noting the government performed tests before the dog park and athletic fields were built.
"We want to put everyone's fears to rest and reassure everyone that there isn't any danger," said Shana Boehm, a program analyst for the VA in Westwood.
From 1952 to 1968, UCLA and the then-Veterans Administration used the northwest corner of the property to dump radioactive biomedical research waste, officials have acknowledged.
The 387-acre VA grounds along Wilshire Boulevard just west of the 405 Freeway is considered prime underdeveloped real estate and is being studied for development by the federal government to better utilize inefficient VA property.
Since 1985, 12 acres have been leased to the city of Los Angeles for $1 a year for the Barrington Recreation Center, and a section of the property was made into Barrington Dog Park in 2003.
A portion of the off-leash area contains part of the former nuclear dump.
Critics fear any future development could result in digging in and around the dump area, unleashing toxins, unless the pollutants are found and cleaned up.
Revelations about the dumping program came to light in the 1970s when the nuclear watchdog group Committee to Bridge the Gap became aware that the city was negotiating with the VA to convert some of the property into a park. In 1981, after conducting its own research, the group pointed out that some of the main radionuclides at the site included tritium and carbon-14.
But the Nuclear Regulatory Commission dismissed those concerns and concluded the property posed no health risks. Based on that assessment, the L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks moved forward with its plans to build the park.
