Candidates for San Francisco's District 10 Supervisor position agreed that it’s time to do something about radioactive waste at Hunters Point Shipyard.
That’s the consensus that emerged at a candidates forum last Thursday. The shipyard was previously the site of radioactivity research conducted by the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory. It was also where radiation and atomic weapons were decommissioned. A lawsuit filed two years ago alleged that radioactive waste has not been adequately cleaned up by the U.S. Navy.
The nine candidates — Theo Ellington, J.R. Eppler, Ellsworth M. Jennison, Jr., Mike Trouble Lin, Jamo Muhammad, Jessica Pessecow, Shawn Richard, Dion-Jay "DJ" Brookter, and Deandra Bryant — agreed that the future of the site was an important issue.
Richards, Muhammad, and Lin suggested putting pressure on the federal government and the Navy to clean up the site.
Pessecow recommended bioremediation — using bacteria to eat radioactive waste — as well as providing screenings and healthcare to residents in the area.
Other candidates proposed real-time monitoring of hazardous substances in the area, as well as requiring developers to pause construction on projects in Hunters Point.
