Radioactive contamination is creeping into drinking water [Video]

December 21, 2021 — Editor’s note: This story is part of a year-long investigation of drinking water contamination across the U.S. The series is supported by funding from the Park Foundation, the Water Foundation and the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Fund for Environmental Journalism. Read the launch story, “Thirsting for Solutions,” here and the other stories in the series here. 

When Jeni Knack moved to Simi Valley, California, in 2018, she had no idea that her family’s new home was within 5 miles of a former nuclear and rocket testing laboratory, perched atop a plateau and rife with contamination. Radioactive cesium-137, strontium-90, plutonium-239 and tritium, along with a mix of other toxic chemicals and heavy metals, are known to have been released at the industrial site through various spills, leaks, the use of open-air burn pits and a partial nuclear meltdown.