San Francisco health officials are asking why they were not warned about elevated radiation levels detected last year at an inactive U.S. Navy shipyard in the city.
Plutonium was found at the decommissioned Hunters Point Naval Shipyard back in November 2024, San Francisco Health Officer Dr. Susan Philip explained in a letter on Thursday that was sent to Navy officials.
Philip wrote that the city health department only found out in October that Pu-239, a type of plutonium, was detected in an air filter sample at Hunter’s Point as workers were grinding asphalt during work operations last year.
The level detected was more than double the Environmental Protection Agency’s “action level” when further steps must be taken to ensure public safety, according to the
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