US Navy accused of concealing radioactive waste contamination at former shipyard — land potentially slated for residential development: Report

The United States Navy was accused of concealing dangerous levels of radioactive waste contamination at a former shipyard in California, according to a Sunday report from the Guardian.

The 866-acre parcel is located waterside in the Hunters Point neighborhood in San Francisco and was used as a secret Navy research lab. The city is scheduled to take possession of the land as early as next year and potentially redevelop it into a residential area, according to the news outlet.

Public health advocates claim that the land is contaminated with dangerous levels of strontium-90 after the Navy's lab-injected animals with the radioactive isotope. Some officials have alleged that the waste was flushed down the drain, leading to land contamination. Additionally, the Navy used strontium-90 to make glow-in-the-dark paint that may have washed off ships used for nuclear testing in the Pacific.

According to Environmental Protection Agency, strontium-90 "behaves like calcium in the human body and tends to deposit in bone and blood-forming tissue." It has been linked to several cancers.

In 2021, the Navy reported finding high levels of the radioactive isotope after sampling 23 sites along the property's sewer lines. However, the following year, the Navy insisted the testing was "skewed" and provided new results that claimed the land's strontium-90 levels were lower than zero, which environmental health experts insisted would be impossible.

The EPA stated that without proof that the original results were inaccurate, it "reads as if the Navy is suppressing data results it doesn't like in regards to Strontium-90 data," KNTV reported.

In 1989, the federal government classified the land as a "superfund site," which are areas found to be contaminated with hazardous materials.

According to the EPA, many "contaminants of concern" were found on the property, including strontium-90, which was detected in buildings, groundwater, and soil. The EPA listed the land as not "sitewide ready for anticipated use."

In 2000, 86% of San Francisco voters supported requiring the land to "be cleaned to a level which would enable the unrestricted use of the property – the highest standard for cleanup established by the [EPA]."

One of the location's parcels was previously turned over to the city and turned into a residential area. Some locals have claimed that the land's contamination is responsible for a spike in cancer and other health issues in the neighborhood.

As a result of the potentially contaminated site, the Navy and the Department of Justice are facing 12 lawsuits.

The Navy did not respond to a request for comment, the Guardian reported.

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