The Great Majority of Hunters Point Sites Were Never Sampled for Radioactive Contamination (Report 2)
October 2018
In part two of our Hunters Point Shipyard (HPS) report series, CBG reveals significant flaws and shortcomings in the U.S. Navy’s cleanup efforts at the HPS. The report focuses on radioactive contamination and inadequate testing standards utilized by the U.S. Navy for the HPS cleanup. Key findings are as follows:
1. Most Sites at Hunters Point Were Never Sampled
- 90% of HPS sites were declared “non-impacted” without any testing, based solely on historical records.
- Contamination likely spread across the site through activities like sandblasting radioactive ships and incineration of contaminated materials, but these areas were not sampled.
2. Contamination Risks Underestimated
- Parcel A was declared safe without thorough testing, yet recent scans found radioactive materials exceeding safety thresholds by up to 30,000 times EPA limits.
- Parcel B cleanup revealed “ubiquitous” contamination, disproving the Navy’s “spill model,” which assumed contamination was limited to small areas.
3. Radionuclides Not Measured
- The Navy identified 108 radionuclides used at HPS but only tested for a handful.
- Critical contaminants like strontium-90 and plutonium-239 were ignored in 90% of tests, posing significant health risks.
4. Inflated Background Measurements
- Background radiation levels were taken from potentially contaminated areas, artificially raising thresholds for what was considered “clean” and preventing proper cleanup.
5. Inadequate and Misleading Testing Procedures
- The Navy relied on outdated gamma scans that:
- Cannot detect alpha or beta radiation, including key contaminants.
- Miss contamination below the surface or in areas not scanned.
- Soil sampling, which is essential for accurate detection, was rarely conducted.
6. Falsification of Data
- Contractors like Tetra Tech falsified 90-97% of survey data, replacing contaminated samples with clean soil and reusing data strings from other sites.
- EPA and state regulators estimate only 3% of data is reliable.
Conclusion
The cleanup at Hunters Point Shipyard suffers from systemic issues:
- Lack of comprehensive sampling.
- Exclusion of critical radionuclides from testing.
- Inflated background levels and falsified data.
These failings compromise public health, particularly for communities near Hunters Point. A thorough, science-based reassessment of the site is urgently needed to ensure safety.