QUESTION: How serious is the toxic and radiological contamination of the Hunters Point Shipyard?

ANSWER: The Shipyard is a seriously contaminated facility and is on the National Priorities List. This means it is among the most polluted of federal properties. It is also the most seriously contaminated military base on San Francisco Bay. On the other hand, the Shipyard is in the lesser half of facilities on the National Priorities List. Therefore, while the Shipyard is seriously contaminated, there are many military bases that pose a much greater risk to those working on it and the surrounding community. Click here for more specific information about the types of contamination found on each of the parcels of Hunters Point Shipyard.

QUESTION: Does the Shipyard currently pose a hazard to its tenants, residents of the Bayview Hunters Point Community, and the City of San Francisco?

ANSWER: This question is difficult to answer. Here’s why: For a toxic or radioactive substance to pose a health risk, a person needs to be exposed to a certain amount of the contaminant over a certain amount of time. Small amounts of mildly toxic chemicals over a short period of time may have no impact whereas a similar amount of highly toxic chemicals over the same period of time may have a substantial impact on health. The impact of exposure on the body also varies from person to person as well as between races and ethnic groups. So while exposure to the radium from the radium painted dials disposed of on Parcel E of the Shipyard could eventually cause death, it only becomes a risk to a person’s health when he or she is directly exposed in a manner that would enable the substance to contaminate their body.

As a result, the population most at risk is those who work on the Shipyard. This does not however mean that it is not safe to work on the Shipyard. Again, it is the amount and length of exposure that affects a person’s health. Because much of the contamination of the Shipyard is buried, the risk of exposure is reduced. On the other hand, as cleanup continues and trenches are dug there is more of an opportunity for dust born toxics and radioactive substances to contaminate nearby individuals.

The next group with the possibility of an elevated risk are those people living within Bayview Hunters Point, bounded by Evans to the North, Thirds Street to the West and Jamestown to the South. This is because toxic and radiologically contaminated dust blown off-site by the wind can be carried some distance. As BVHP residents know, the winds in that area are strong and can blow in a wide variety of directions. Also increasing the possible exposure from airborne contaminated dust are semi-trucks carrying contaminated materials for disposal that have not been properly washed down or have not properly put on their bin tarpaulin, if at all. Like children running in from playing in a sand box or backyard dirt, if not properly washed down, a truck carrying contaminated material will drop contaminated dirt and dust along its route. If the tops of bins hauling waste have not been secured with a tarp to keep the contents inside, the wind and the movement of the vehicle can blow them into the lots along the route.

Even the risk within this area varies. People living closer to the Shipyard, for example along Kiska or at Mariners Village, will have a greater risk of exposure than people living closer to Third Street. Escaping methane gas from the Parcel E landfill threatens not only people on the base near the sites, but also potentially people on the hillsides above. Another source of exposure for neighborhood residents, including those living outside of the bounds of the area described above, is eating fish and shellfish caught offshore of the Shipyard. Seafood, particularly shellfish, caught around the Shipyard has a good potential for being contaminated. Click here for more information about the contamination in the South Basin.

SF residents outside of the areas above stand a much-reduced chance of being contaminated by the facility. While landfill fires can carry pollutants some distance, the heavier and middleweight particles typically fall within a mile or so from the site, lighter particles are carried some distance. As a result, it is more than likely that the impacts of the Shipyard even in an event similar to the August 2000 – April 2001 landfill fire would have limited negative impacts, if any, on community health outside of the BVHP neighborhood.

QUESTION: What about past activities, such as the burning of radioactively contaminated fuel oil in Shipyard power plants: did that contaminate tenants, residents of the Bayview Hunters Point Community, and the City of San Francisco?

ANSWER: This is another difficult question to answer. The most honest response to the question is: we don’t know, but it is possible. Numerous activities have occurred at the Hunters Point Shipyard, which could have had an impact on the health of residents within the 94124 district. Burning radioactively contaminated fuel oil, for example, will not remove the radioisotopes. Burning simply moves the contaminants from the oil into the air. How far and wide they were then spread is anyone’s guess because the data that exists on BVHP wind patterns doesn’t reflect its numerous micro-climates or frequent and sudden shifts in direction.

QUESTION: What is a Restoration Advisory Board and what does it do?

ANSWER: A Restoration Advisory Board, or RAB, is a community advisory committee established by the Navy to solicit community input on cleanup decision-making. RABs do not have decision-making authority, but do have influence within the process. Click here to learn more about the RAB.

QUESTION: If the RAB doesn’t make the cleanup decisions, who does?

ANSWER: The Base Cleanup Team or BCT makes these decisions. The BCT is composed of the Navy, US EPA, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control and San Francisco Bay Area Regional Water Quality Control Board. The Navy is the “lead agency” so under the Superfund process, it gets to determine what it will do and how much it is willing to spend on the cleanup. Nevertheless, the regulators can approve or disapprove of the plan and order the Navy back to the drawing board if they don’t like a proposed cleanup strategy. Click here for more information on the cleanup process.

QUESTION: What is the City of San Francisco’s role in the cleanup process?

ANSWER: The City of San Francisco has a very limited role under the Superfund program. As the local governmental entity that is taking over the Shipyard, the Navy must negotiate with the City over the cleanup standards it is willing to accept. However, the federal government is under no obligation to comply with those standards. As a result, the City of San Francisco has attempted to conclude a Conveyance Agreement with the Navy, which will bind the federal government to cleanup standards that are consistent with the planned reuse for the Shipyard and are consistent with the intent of Proposition P. Otherwise the City, like any other interested party, has had to hire its own consultants and staff to monitor the environmental cleanup process at the Shipyard to ensure its goals are addressed during the deliberations of the Base Cleanup Team. Click here for more information on the cleanup process.

QUESTION: What is the Hunters Point Shipyard Citizens Advisory Committee and what does is do?

ANSWER: Like the Restoration Advisory Board, the Hunters Point Shipyard Citizens Advisory Committee, or HPS CAC, is a community advisory committee established to solicit community input on the Reuse of the Shipyard. The CAC addresses cleanup decision-making as they affect the reuse of the property. Click here to learn more about the CAC.