Put to the test

For years, federal and state regulators insisted that Parcel A, the portion of the Hunters Point Shipyard where people are already living, was safe.

On Friday, Malia Cohen, the San Francisco supervisor who represents the Hunters Point neighborhood, announced that the California Public Health Department has agreed to test Parcel A for hazardous materials, using money secured by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco.

Also on Friday, the U.S. Navy released a new proposal for radiological retesting at sites where Tetra Tech, an environmental engineering firm that was paid hundreds of millions of dollars to help clean up the shipyard, previously gathered data.

Both the Navy and the Environmental Protection Agency have claimed the data Tetra Tech collected was flawed. Two former Tetra Tech supervisors have pleaded guilty to falsifying soil records.

Tetra Tech did remediation work at Parcel G, a parcel situated close to Parcel A. A proposal for retesting Parcel G is open for a 60-day public comment period.

The new plans for soil retesting are expected to delay the schedule for developing these parcels, and that is beyond frustrating.

The entire development plan for the shipyard calls for more than 12,000 badly needed homes, along with 300 acres of parkland and several million square feet of office and research space.

San Francisco is depending on that housing to meet its housing goals in the midst of a crushing housing crisis.

Meanwhile, the Navy has had decades to clean up the shipyard — and San Francisco officials have had decades to demand that they finish the job in a timely manner.

And yet, both San Francisco officials and residents should support a thorough retesting of the shipyard.

The revelations that have unfolded at the shipyard over the past year have panicked current shipyard residents and destroyed public trust in the entire cleanup process.

The only way to rebuild public confidence in the safety of the shipyard is to get scientific evidence from an independent, outside entity. The California Department of Public Health certainly fits the bill.

As for Parcel G, Tetra Tech has offered to pay for independent retesting of its work. While the company’s discussions with the Navy are ongoing, it seems like an offer the Navy should accept.