State to Hold Meeting on Dumping Hazards

State health officials announced Tuesday that they will hold a public meeting in Santa Clarita on Aug. 3 to discuss how researchers have assessed the potential hazards of toxic chemicals illegally dumped at a defense plant in Sand Canyon.

The meeting, to be held at 7 p.m. in Santa Clarita City Hall, was called in response to allegations that chemicals dumped by Space Ordnance Systems contributed to four cancer deaths in one Sand Canyon family since 1983. A study by USC researchers commissioned by Los Angeles County and released in June, 1988, found no evidence tying the toxic chemicals to health problems in the area.

Jim Marxen, a spokesman for the state Department of Health Services, said Tuesday that the USC researchers would attend next week’s meeting to explain the report’s conclusions. Medical experts will also be available to answer questions, he said.

The meeting is a follow-up to a public forum attended by more than 200 Santa Clarita Valley residents last month. The forum was held after the allegations about the possible side effects of the dumping surfaced.