California IN BRIEF : MOUNTAIN VIEW : Faster Cleanup of Toxic Waste Sought

The Navy is preparing to get an earlier start on cleaning up toxic ground water and contaminated soil that will be left behind when Moffett Field Naval Air Station closes. The $140-million cleanup of solvents, spilled fuels and PCB-laden oils at the Navy base could begin by September, 1993, more than three years earlier than planned. The Navy plans to separate 19 toxic chemical sites at the base into groups and decontaminate the worst areas first. “By breaking the sites into units, we can accelerate,” said Jim Haas, head of the base’s environmental division. “Then each unit becomes a separate problem unto itself.” Regulators and environmental groups are backing the new plan, which has yet to receive approval.