Hunters Point Naval Shipyard

Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is a former United States Navy installation occupying roughly 866 acres on a peninsula in southeastern San Francisco, California, beside the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood. The Navy operated the shipyard from 1941 to 1974, building, repairing, and maintaining ships and submarines through World War II and the Cold War. From 1946 to 1969 the base also housed the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory, which studied the effects of radiation. Following the 1946 Operation Crossroads atomic tests at Bikini Atoll, ships exposed to the blasts were brought to Hunters Point, where the Navy decontaminated dozens of radiation-contaminated vessels using methods such as wet sandblasting and acid washes. The shipyard closed in 1974 and was leased to a commercial ship repair company from 1976 to 1986.

There are longstanding concerns about carcinogenic health hazards at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, stemming from potential exposure to several environmental contaminants documented at the site:

1. Radiation: Radioactive contamination at Hunters Point traces to the decontamination of ships returned from Pacific nuclear weapons tests, the work of the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory, and the routine use of radioluminescent paint containing radium and strontium on deck markers, dials, and instruments. Radionuclides including strontium-90 and radium have been identified in shipyard soil, with strontium-90 detected in samples as recently as 2021 and radioactive objects unearthed in 2023. Ionizing radiation is a recognized carcinogen, and exposure to radioactive materials has been associated with elevated risks of certain cancers.
2. PCBs: Polychlorinated biphenyls are synthetic chemicals that were widely used in electrical transformers, capacitors, and hydraulic equipment of the kind found throughout industrial shipyard operations. PCBs have been documented in soil and sediment at Hunters Point, where they persist for decades. They are classified as probable human carcinogens, and prolonged exposure may potentially be linked to cancer and other health effects.
3. Heavy metals: Decades of shipbuilding, repair, sandblasting, painting, and metal work left heavy metals in soils and bay sediments at the shipyard. Certain heavy metals are classified as known or probable carcinogens, and chronic exposure has been associated with cancers and other serious illnesses.
4. Solvents: Industrial solvents and other volatile organic compounds were used at the shipyard for degreasing, cleaning, and maintenance, and have been documented in soil and groundwater. Some of these compounds have been associated with cancer and other health concerns following long-term exposure.

Hunters Point Naval Shipyard was added to the EPA National Priorities List of Superfund sites in 1989, and its cleanup remains unresolved decades later. The Navy's radiological remediation contractor, Tetra Tech EC, was found to have falsified soil sampling data; the EPA concluded that up to 97 percent of the company's radiological data in some areas was suspect, two supervisors were sentenced to prison in 2018, and the company agreed in 2025 to a 97 million dollar settlement. Retesting is ongoing, additional radiological material was reported at the site as recently as April 2026, and community groups sued the Navy and EPA in 2024 seeking comprehensive retesting as residential redevelopment proceeds.

It is important to recognize that while there are documented contaminants and genuine concerns about potential exposure at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, establishing a definitive link between time spent at a particular location and an individual diagnosis can be complex. Research into the site's contamination and its possible health effects is ongoing. Veterans and shipyard workers who spent time at Hunters Point are encouraged to stay informed about the cleanup, document their service history, and consult the VA about health monitoring and potential benefits.