Here's an interesting omission: The L.A. Times' Peter Pae writes today that Boeing is about to dump the Rocketdyne unit - but barely mentions the costly swamp of poison and litigation still roiling around the venerable Santa Susana Field Lab.
Boeing is near a deal with United Technologies Corp. (owner of Pratt & Whitney and other aerospace, defense and electronics firms) says the Times story, on a bounce from the original Wall Street Journal piece.
The only whisper of nearly a dozen open lawsuits involving hundreds of plaintiffs who allege they suffered cancer and lost loved ones to the heavy metals, radioactivity and carcinogenic solvents permeating the ground water in and around SSFL from years of rocket and nuclear reactor tests is this:
The sources said a deal was imminent though one person close to Boeing stressed that the two sides were still working to settle on the terms. Among the possible stumbling blocks are environmental liability issues related to Rocketdyne's Santa Susana rocket testing complex in the Simi Hills.
Possible. You've gotta wonder what precisely United Technologies' risk assessment dudes were doing when they were supposed to be researching land records for the site, which Boeing has owned since the mid-90s.
Very curious that the Times chose not to lay odds on - or even delve very deep into the business implications of any firm choosing to buy into this reeking, glowing can of worms.
Posted by: mack_reed on Wednesday, February 02, 2005 - 10:30 PM
