{"id":521,"date":"2026-06-06T14:31:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T14:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=521"},"modified":"2026-06-06T14:31:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T14:31:44","slug":"navy-finds-radiological-material-in-unauthorized-storage-in-sf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=521","title":{"rendered":"Navy finds radiological material in ‘unauthorized’ storage in SF"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Community groups near Hunters Point\u00a0issued a \u201ccall to action\u201d Friday after the U.S. Navy disclosed \u201cradiological material\u201d was found in a cabinet at the former naval shipyard back in April.<\/p>

Read more Brewers\u2019 Brian Fitzpatrick gets injured on warmup pitch in first appearance after promotion<\/a><\/p><\/div>

\"\"<\/div>

In a statement released in May, Navy officials said a contractor discovered \u201cradiological material in a cabinet in a secure building\u201d at the infamous Superfund site. They described the material as being found in \u201cunauthorized\u201d storage.<\/p><\/div>

<\/div>

\u201cThe material was believed to be placed in the building by a former subcontractor at the site, and may have violated Radiological Material License requirements,\u201d Navy officials said of the finding on April 8. They clarified the suspected subcontractor \u201cwas not authorized\u201d to store the material in the building they were occupying at the time. Additionally they said \u201cthere are no public or contractor health and safety issues related to this incident\u201d and the material was \u201cunrelated to project work being done at any time over the course of cleanup operations.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

The Navy did not disclose what material the contractor found in the cabinet.<\/p><\/div>

The Hunters Point shipyard has been shut down since\u00a01991, with the Navy in charge of cleaning up the area, and its work overseen\u00a0by the Environmental Protection Agency and California state regulatory agencies. For decades, the area was used as a ship repair yard and also as the site of the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory from 1946 to 1969.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

The area is now an EPA-designated Superfund site that encompasses nearly 900 acres after NRDL activities \u201ccontaminated soil, dust, sediments, surface water and groundwater\u201d with multiple pollutants including heavy metals, pesticides, petroleum fuels and\u00a0radionuclides.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

<\/div>

After demolishing and cleaning the site, the Navy is expected to turn over the land to San Francisco. Currently only one parcel, Parcel A, has been declared safe to be developed. That parcel was turned over to the city for development in 2004 and is the site of some newly built housing developments.<\/p><\/div>

While the Navy pointed to a subcontractor as the reason the unauthorized material was just sitting in a cabinet, local community groups say they are fed up with the contentious cleanup and are planning a rally at City Hall on June 24.<\/p>

Read more Search called off for 60-year-old hiker missing in Tahoe<\/a><\/p><\/div>

On Friday, the Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice group and Marie Harrison Community Foundation issued a call for action, announcing a rally and demanding community members have more say in the cleanup.<\/p><\/div>

<\/div>

\u201cWe don\u2019t trust them as far as we can throw them,\u201d Bradley Angel, executive director of Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, told SFGATE of the Navy. He highlighted past issues including a radioactive object found in 2018 in an area previously declared clean, and the 2017\u00a0guilty pleas by two subcontractors who admitted to falsifying reports.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

\n
\"image\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>

The Bay Area’s best free newsletter.<\/div><\/h2>
Stay informed, and entertained.<\/div><\/div><\/div>