US Navy Acknowledges Rising Toxic Groundwater Threat at SF Superfund Site (KQED)

A recent report from the US Navy confirms what we argued in our 2019 report on the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard: leaving contamination on-site beneath a thin ‘cover,’ as the Navy intends to do, is insufficient to protect public health, as there exist numerous mechanisms for that contamination to become uncovered.

“The Navy found that in 2035, contaminated groundwater from heavy metals and “low-level radiological objects” — steeping in the water like a tea bag — could surface in an area of the site called ‘Parcel D-1,’ which the Navy used for ship repair, maintenance and radiological research. The Navy capped this area with asphalt to keep any remaining pollution underground.

The Navy’s assessment said heavy metals in permanent groundwater could surface in five other places by 2065.”

Read the full article from KQED by clicking here.

Read additional reporting on the Navy’s report from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.