Energy Technology Engineering Center, Santa Susana Field Lab, California

A nuclear energy R&D facility once owned by the Department of Energy, and operated by either Boeing directly or one of its legacy companies (e.g. Rocketdyne, Rockwell International, North American Aviation, etc.), until its closing in 1988. The Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) was located on 90 acres within the larger 2,850-acre Santa Susana Field Laboratory, which was itself closed in 2006. Much of the R&D conducted at the ETEC was focused on non-nuclear liquid metal reactors, auxillary power nuclear reactors intended for use in space, alternative energy sources, and coal gasification. Nearby Moorpark claims to be the first community lit by commercial nuclear power, from a plant at this facility (Arco Idaho makes a similar claim). The primary use of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory was for rocket engine testing, and over the course of its nearly 60-year history, it provided support for the majority of U.S. space programs. Decades of testing have resulted in chemical contamination of both soil and groundwater, however, and extensive environmental remediation is currently underway.