The Navy reported in April the discovery of radiological material in an “unauthorized storage cabinet on the San Francisco Bay.” On June 24, over 150 people rallied at San Francisco’s City Hall to demand environmental justice, accountability, and community oversight to repair health damage and failures in the long-running cleanup of the Hunters Point Shipyard Superfund Site.
The shipyard was home to the Naval Radiological Defense Lab from 1946-1969 and was shut down in 1991. There is a long list of complaints about the remediation of the EPA-designated Superfund site ⸺ a 900-acre segment including “contaminated soil, dust, sediments, surface water and groundwater” with multiple pollutants including heavy metals, pesticides, petroleum fuels, and radionuclides.
The Navy pointed to a former subcontractor at the site and claimed no related public health or safety issues. However, the material discovered in the cabinet was not disclosed.
Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice and Marie Harrison Community Foundation, who organized the rally in June, continue to fight for a more just cleanup. Bradley Angel, Executive Director of Greenaction, told SF Gate the community cannot rely on the Navy for the truth when violations are discovered, saying, “We don’t trust them as far as we can throw them.”
⸺ SF Gate, June 5; greenaction.org, Aug. 12, 2026
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