Company Accused In Hunters Point Cleanup Scandal Offers New Tests
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – There was new fallout Wednesday over the billion-dollar cleanup scandal at the old San Francisco Naval Shipyard in Hunters Point as the company being accused of fraud in the cleanup defended itself.
Tetra Tech -- the Pasadena-based engineering contractor the federal government paid $1 billion to for the cleanup and testing of the soil at the former naval shipyard at Hunters Point -- said it stands by its findings.
"We know that we did it properly. We have worked hard to make Hunters Point safe for the community and the residents and for redevelopment," said William Brownlie, chief engineer with Tetra Tech. "It is unfortunate that the false allegations that have been brought against us may result in unnecessary delays in the redevelopment process."
The company made the claims to the press Wednesday morning, disputing a letter from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Navy saying the soil samples used to test for radioactive contamination may be fake.
That would mean the site developers have their eye on for 12,000 apartments and condominiums -- plus retail and office space -- might still contain radioactive waste.
"We believe that any concerns created by false claims can be addressed by actually resampling and analyzing the areas in question," explained Brownlie.
Brownlie said Tetra Tech is so confident in its findings that the company will not only pay for yet another round of testing but it will also pay for a 3rd independent party to perform another assessment of the soil.
Back in January, the Navy announced that it would retest the soil at the Hunters Point shipyard site.
Details on the additional testing and further cleanup planned by Tetra Tech were not shared with the media Wednesday. Tetra Tech says they have sent a letter to the Navy and are waiting for their response.
