EPA Says Work at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is Safe

January 5, 2010

Critics of the plan to redevelop the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard have said the project is kicking up toxic asbestos-laden dust and causing a variety of health problems.  But a draft of a federal report obtained by The Chronicle found the project has effective safeguards in place to minimize asbestos exposure.

A number of reports including this Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report have found the project to be safe, despite lawsuits, a record fine and more than three years of heated public hearings as activists seek to halt the work.

The draft report found that monitoring procedures are effectively minimizing "dust generation and limiting asbestos exposure."  The EPA report also stated that it saw no reason to suspend or stop the construction project.  More than 10,000 homes are scheduled to be built in the affected area. Hunters Point (The Point) or Bayview-Hunters Point or The Bayview is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of San Francisco, California. It is also known as the Port because of the former naval base. Bayview-Hunters point is known for being home to the majority of San Francisco's African-American population, and also as the neighborhood adjacent to Candlestick Park (home of the San Francisco 49ers).

The EPA's study looked at existing data from ten monitors around the 75-acre site. The monitors work like vacuums, sucking air into a small canister, which contains a filter that is analyzed at a lab. The agency also reanalyzed 34 filters from "some of the worst-case situations" using a more detailed method. It found that the "oversight of the project is appropriate" and that the standard used by local officials actually resulted in a more conservative approach than the EPA method, the draft report said.  The city's public health chief, Mitch Katz, has repeatedly testified that the construction is safe, and the city's efforts have been backed by the state Department of Health Services and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Not everyone is convinced of the latest findings, saying that the project is spreading naturally occurring asbestos that is causing health problems among nearby residents. Asbestos, a fibrous mineral, is sent airborne when earth is broken and graded for construction.  Long-term exposure can cause a cancer called mesothelioma and other health problems.  The Bay Area Air Quality Management District fined Lennar Urban, a home and community developer, $515,000 in September 2008 - the largest fine in the district's history for a dust violation - for failing to properly monitor the air, maintain stations for washing dust off vehicles and contain dust from roadways out of the worksite.