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L.A.'s Secret Meltdown; Nuclear Cowboys

Documentary film covering the top secret 1959 Sodium Reactor meltdown in Los Angeles, California. The incident, kept secret for decades, resulted in the deaths of an estimated 300 to 1,800 people and is the suspected source of elevated cancer rates in adjacent suburban communities. The amount of contaminants released have been estimated at over 400 times that of the highly publicized Three Mile Island incident. This film features accounts from former Atomics International employees detailing the incident that sent highly radioactive gases over parts of Los Angeles for two weeks. Employees also recall illegal acts of mass pollution such as open burn pits that sent radioactive waste into the open air for decades. These experiments took place at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, in the hills between Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley.
The film gathers comprehensive incident footage and testimonial interviews with local survivors, physicians, scientists, researchers and reporters regarding the 1959 meltdown and the grassroots movements to clean the site in order to save generations from exposure to it's migrating contaminants.

  • Dario Mellado
    Director
  • Dario Mellado
    Writer
  • Dario Mellado
    Producer
  • Marsha Hunt
    Producer
  • Lindsay La Chapelle
    Producer
  • Dan Hirsch
    Key Cast
    Lecturer-Nuclear Policy UC Santa Cruz
  • Dr. Robert Dodge
    Key Cast
    President-Physicians for Social Responsibilty
  • John Pace
    Key Cast
    Former Atomics Intl. Employee
  • Dan Parks
    Key Cast
    Former Atomics Intl. Employee
  • Bonnie Klea
    Key Cast
    Former Atomics Intl. Employee
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    31 minutes 15 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Dario Mellado

Expressing the beauty and controversy of the world around him Artist and Filmmaker Dario Mellado has carved out a strong presence in L.A.’s underground art scene.
Mellado’s work includes a twenty year ongoing study of “America’s Decaying Suburban Experience”. He focuses on the post second world war suburban explosion and its; environmental, social, and spiritual implications. His subject matter ranges from; dependency on destructive technologies (energy consumption, communication, food production etc.), to what Mellado refers to as a “destructive tunnel vision,” where “ …we are tangled in telephone wires and trapped in the glow of the city….a people cut off from a natural existence with more stars on our televisions than in our skies.”
Mellado’s background in social activism including work Coordinating the Independent Living Program in the San Fernando Valley (a vocational and counseling program for “at risk youth” and Foster Children) and time spent as a Vocational Counselor and Advocate for teens with Autism and Aspergers solidified Mellado’s idea and use of an art’s function as an influential “tool for social change”.

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Director Statement

Documentary film covering the top secret 1959 Sodium Reactor meltdown in Los Angeles, California. The incident, kept secret for decades, resulted in the deaths of an estimated 300 to 1,800 people and is the suspected source of elevated cancer rates in adjacent suburban communities. The amount of contaminants released have been estimated at over 400 times that of the highly publicized Three Mile Island incident. This film features accounts from former Atomics International employees detailing the incident that sent highly radioactive gases over parts of Los Angeles for two weeks. Employees also recall illegal acts of mass pollution such as open burn pits that sent radioactive waste into the open air for decades. These experiments took place at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, in the hills between Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley.

The film gathers comprehensive incident footage and testimonial interviews with local survivors, physicians, scientists, researchers and reporters regarding the 1959 meltdown and the grassroots movements to clean the site in order to save generations from exposure to it's migrating contaminants.