Local News in Brief : Rocket Fuel Targeted

Two Los Angeles congressmen Thursday urged the U.S. Transportation and Defense departments to halt transportation of highly toxic rocket fuel through populous areas of Los Angeles and said they will introduce legislation prohibiting such shipments.

The initiatives by Reps. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) and Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) are the latest reaction to disclosures last month that the lethal chemical was routinely trucked through the San Gabriel Valley and into the San Fernando Valley on the congested Ventura Freeway. Berman said a legislative ban would be a stop-gap measure until comprehensive national safety standards on the shipment of hazardous materials are established.

A 60-day moratorium on rocket fuel shipments through several suburban cities and parts of Los Angeles is already in effect. Mayor Tom Bradley, who negotiated the Sept. 23 moratorium with the Defense Department, has said that he prefers to resolve the transportation issue through “conciliatory discussions” rather than legislation.