April 26, 2011- John Davenport
Concerns have long been raised about health risks posed to the residents of San Francisco’s Bayview- Hunter’s Point neighborhood because of exposure to asbestos and other toxic substances from the nearby Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard, which was constructed in the mid-20thcentury. In March 2011, the San Francisco Bay Guardian newspaper published a story revealing an alleged conspiracy “to conceal the health threats of asbestos laden dust” involvingthe operators of the shipyard, the Lennar Corporation, along with officials in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 and the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH).These recent allegations add to concerns about toxic contamination of the Hunter’s Point community which has been established there since WWII.
According to the Bay Guardian article, this information came from official EPA emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by the Stop Lennar Action Movement (SLAM) of Bayview Hunters Point and the Advocates for Environmental Human Rights (EHR).
“Since 2006 when heavy grading and excavation began by the Lennar Corporation at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, residents of the Bayview Hunters Point Community, a majority African-American, Samoan and Latino low-income community, suffered from health problems including nose bleeds, rashes and headaches that they believed were caused by asbestos and heavy metals being unearthed from these actions,” said an excerpt from a SLAM/EHR press release.
Wilma Subra of EHR, said she first saw the emails on March 17.“As I started to go through them, I could clearly see where EPA and DPH are wrestling with how to downgrade, or make less important, the information on asbestos on Parcel A of the shipyard.”
Parcel A refers to a plot of land at the shipyard where military housing stood before 2004, the year when it was transferred to the city of San Francisco.“Lennar began grading and excavating operations on the site in 2006, which led to health complaints and a $500 million fine by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District when it turned out that Lennar’s asbestos dust monitors had not been properly functioning and that regular dust mitigation measures had not been enforced,” reported the Bay Guardian.
“The community has been asking tough questions, because people have been sick,” said Subra. “And this clearly shows that the agencies are trying to figure out how to message to the community and downplay the impact, and that Lennar was at the table.”
“Public health is being impacted…it’s totally unacceptable.”
Jaron Browne, a SLAM member and Bayview Organizing Project Organizer believes that that, despite the publicizing of the emails, the EPA will issue a statement standing by its original statements on asbestos exposure at the shipyard. “But … we will be ccing our findings to US senators," said Browne. In the meantime the community organizations have also initiated legal action and staged public protests.
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