Decades Later, Industry and Regulators Fail to Clean Up Former Rocket Test Site

Decades ago, the government and private industry pioneered atomic energy and tested the rockets that got us to the moon at a sprawling complex in the Simi Hills west of Los Angeles. The lab closed down 20 years ago, but the land retains the toxic residue from nearly a million gallons of carcinogenic solvent and a partial nuclear meltdown. State regulators promised a thorough cleanup by the end of this year. Today, activists fear the polluters will get off easy.