Editor, Manteca Bulletin,

In 1996, my family moved to Tracy because we loved the safe, small town feel and the rural location. But after living in Tracy for several years, imagine my surprise to discover that my beloved city was bordered by one of the most poisoned sites in America —Lawrence Livermore Lab’s high explosives testing facility called Site 300, located west of Tracy along Corral Hollow Road, and bordering the new Tracy Hills housing development.

Site 300’s activities caused hundreds of documented toxic and radioactive releases to our soil, ground and surface water. Since 1990, Site 300 has been included on the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Superfund” list.

I was shocked to discover that I was raising my three children so close to a site whose operations included open air blasts of high explosives and multiple hazardous materials used in nuclear weapons, including uranium.

One of the open-air firing tables used to detonate nuclear weapons experiments with uranium-238 is located almost directly over an earthquake fault. Prevailing winds blow contaminants towards Tracy and into the Central Valley.

As a parent and community member, I’m concerned that the Lab has done very little to inform the Tracy and other Central Valley communities about the cleanup of this toxic mess.

According to Tri-Valley CAREs, a non-profit organization that monitors the Lab (and on whose board I now serve) officials have acknowledged they are uncertain when the cleanup will be completed. I am concerned that without public input, the Lab will continue to do too little cleanup due to budget restraints and public ignorance.

Please join me at a free public town meeting at the Tracy Transit Station, 50 E. Sixth St., on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. to learn more about Site 300 pollution and the status of its cleanup. The health, safety, and future of our children depend on it. 

Gail Rieger

Tracy