A contractor for the U.S. Navy reported last month that workers uncovered unauthorized radiological material stashed in a cabinet inside a secure building at the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. The April 8 discovery, logged within a nonpublic structure on the sprawling Superfund property, has stirred up long-running community fears about contamination. Residents and advocates say it only deepens doubts about whether redevelopment near the shipyard has truly been safe.
Discovery Inside A Secured Building
According to SFGATE, the contractor reported the find on April 8 after workers opened a cabinet inside a secure, nonpublic building. Once the material surfaced, officials say a closer look turned up additional boxes of chemicals that also needed to be removed for disposal. The Navy has told local outlets it believes the radiological material was not part of any current remediation work and may instead have been left behind by a former subcontractor.
Found Near Where Homes Were Built
The cabinet was discovered in a section of the shipyard near parcels where housing and artist studios were developed in the 2000s. That proximity has set off yet another round of anxiety among neighbors already uneasy about the site, as highlighted in local TV coverage. CBS News emphasized that the find occurred near areas where new homes were built.
Air-Sample Plutonium Found Last Year
The latest discovery follows reporting last fall that an air filter sample taken in November 2024 at Parcel C detected plutonium‑239 at about twice the federal "action level." City health officials were not notified for nearly a year. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the delay pushed the city’s Department of Public Health to demand full data and an independent review.
Health officials and residents have been increasingly alarmed by what they see as a broader pattern of troubling discoveries. "Full transparency with our department and our communities is critical to protecting public health," the city health department wrote in a letter. Supervisor Shamann Walton called the findings "deeply troubling and unacceptable," according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Regulatory Response And Next Steps
The Navy said it notified federal and state regulators, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the state Department of Environmental Health, by April 10. It also reported the matter to the Navy Office of the Inspector General and NCIS as part of its follow-up steps, per Bay City News Service reporting cited by SFGATE. Officials told reporters they are working with those agencies and the contractor to arrange off-site disposal of the material and that more information is expected at the Hunters Point Shipyard Community Advisory Committee meeting on June 15.
Legal And Development Context
The discovery has revived questions about the shipyard cleanup that have already fueled years of litigation and federal action, including allegations that a contractor manipulated sampling and test results during remediation work. Court documents and a consent decree filed with the U.S. Department of Justice detail claims against Tetra Tech EC and the government’s partial settlement over alleged misconduct at Hunters Point, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
