Toxic water, sea level rise latest challenges in S.F. shipyard cleanup
A report released by the Navy confirmed concerns that for years have been hanging over the radiological cleanup of San Francisco’s Hunters Point Shipyard: that rising seawater levels, and other environmental factors resulting from climate change, could cause toxic materials that have long been buried at the site to surface. The study, called Climate Resilience Assessment, was included in an ongoing review process that the Navy must undertake every five years to evaluate its remediation plan for the former shipyard, which has long been a designated Superfund site. The shipyard is also slated for redevelopment into a new neighborhood, with cleaning efforts by the Navy and its contractors underway for more than a decade to prepare it for reuse. The report is the first time that the Navy has studied the impacts of climate change in relation to the shipyard, which spans hundreds of acres and contains radioactive waste and other contaminants.