Hunters Point activists demand full cleanup after new radioactive find
More than 100 activists rallied at City Hall after the Navy found about 200 radiological items in Hunters Point's Building 400A.
More than 100 environmental activists and community members gathered at City Hall on June 24 to demand a full cleanup of radioactive contamination at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, a retesting of affected areas, stronger oversight and health reparations for nearby residents. The rally sharpened a question that now sits at the center of San Francisco’s housing debate: would anyone move into homes built on land that neighbors still believe is unsafe?
The protest was triggered by the Navy’s spring disclosure that radiological material had been found in a cabinet during ongoing cleanup work. At a community advisory meeting, Navy officials said they had located about 200 radiological items inside Building 400A, a 4,000-square-foot annex, including uranium samples and dozens of jars of other substances. Navy officials said the materials were likely left by a former subcontractor and that there were no public health or contractor safety issues tied to the discovery. Residents and activists did not accept that explanation, pointing to Hunters Point’s long record of contamination fights and repeated discoveries that have kept distrust alive for decades.
The stakes reach far beyond one building. Hunters Point remains a potential site for thousands of homes, which makes every new contamination finding a direct test of San Francisco’s housing plans in Bayview-Hunters Point. For families living near the shipyard, the argument is not abstract. It is about whether the city can ask people to live on land that has still not been fully cleaned, and whether the next round of redevelopment can proceed if the cleanup itself remains in dispute.
Mayor Daniel Lurie did not attend the rally, even though he had been invited, underscoring how politically sensitive the issue remains at City Hall. The absence reflected the broader tension around the shipyard, where federal cleanup promises, local development plans and community health concerns continue to collide. Advocates at the protest pressed for transparency and accountability from the city, the Navy and federal regulators, insisting that another round of assurances is not enough after years of contamination controversies at one of San Francisco’s most fraught redevelopment sites.
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