UC Berkeley law clinic sues Navy, EPA over San Francisco shipyard contamination

Attorneys at UC Berkeley School of Law's Environmental Law Clinic sued the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday, saying the government failed to address radiological contamination at a San Francisco shipyard affecting local communities.

The Navy acquired Hunters Point Dry Dock during World War II and transformed it into a naval base, and toxic chemicals polluted the environment through ship repair. "Much of the radioactive grit was disposed of in barrels dumped in the Pacific Ocean near the Farallon Islands. However, a sizable portion of the contaminated sand was either buried or dumped in the shipyard," wrote Steven J. Castleman, the supervising attorney at the Environmental Law Clinic. 

According to the complaint, the Navy contracted with Tetra Tech EC, a radiological cleanup provider, which committed fraud under the defendant's supervision. "The Navy initially discovered evidence of fraud in October 2012, when its radiological affairs support office identified 36 post-remediation soil sample results that had a significantly different radiological fingerprint than pre-remediation samples, evidencing possible falsified sampling. The Navy did not investigate. It relied on Tetra Tech to investigate itself," said Castleman. 

The Navy later reviewed the data and found evidence of fraud, the attorney said, adding that regulators later investigated more suspect data. Castleman said the Navy was forced to retest the samples and found excessive levels of toxic substances.

The Navy did not respond to an inquiry for comment. The EPA declined to comment. Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice v. United States Department of the Navy et al., 3:24-cv-03899-CRB (N.D. Cal., filed Jun. 28, 2024). 

Castleman alleged violations of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the National Contingency Plan, the federal government's blueprint for responding to oil spills and hazardous substance releases. "The stakes could not be higher. The shipyard's surrounding communities have long been overburdened by pollution. An inadequate cleanup further endangers them," read the complaint.