[CPEO-MEF] HEALTH, REUSE: Former NASA plant, Downey, CA

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Health complaints linked to former NASA site in Downey
A toxic cleanup paved the way for Downey Studios. But people who worked 
on films there say they developed conditions from which they have not 
recovered. The source of their problems remains a mystery.

By Richard Verrier
Los Angeles Times (CA)
August 2, 2009

In 34 years as a Hollywood prop maker, John Izumi rarely missed a day of 
work. Now he can barely pull himself out of bed.

His medical records describe a daunting array of ailments: chest pains, 
headaches, dizziness, memory loss, red blotches and pimple-like bumps. 
He says he has trouble breathing at night and wakes up with tremors.

Izumi traces these symptoms to the three months he spent at Downey 
Studios in 2004 and 2005 building sets for the science-fiction movie 
"The Island."

....

The property, between Lakewood and Bellflower boulevards north of 
Imperial Highway, was a cradle of the nation's aircraft and aerospace 
industries. During World War II, Vultee Aircraft made heavy bombers 
there. After the war, North American Aviation conducted research on 
nuclear power and rocket propulsion.

In the 1960s, North American (later part of Rockwell International) 
landed a NASA contract to build a booster rocket and the command and 
service modules for the Apollo lunar program. Later, workers at Downey 
made and assembled components for six space shuttles.


....

For the entire article, see
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-downey2-2009aug02,0,5980999.story

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



_______________________________________________
Military mailing list
Military@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/military-cpeo.org