A meeting held earlier this week in San Francisco made it clear that Bayview residents who live near the site of the construction at the old Hunters Point Naval Shipyard remain concerned about the presence of toxic asbestos at that location.
According to an article released by the San Francisco Independent Media Center, residents say developer Lennar Corporation has been digging into asbestos-containing rock, sending millions of dangerous fibers into nearby homes, schools, and commercial buildings.
“California state law requires Lennar to monitor the toxicity of the air and inform residents when asbestos or other carcinogens reach a poisonous level,” the article notes. “However, on May 30, when asbestos meters sky-rocketed to 138,000 levels of particulate matter, community members were kept in the dark.”
Advocates for the residents say that the homeowners and business owners were not informed of any dangers until more than six weeks after the incident occurred, which was just a few days before a local election. The building of affordable housing at the site was an issue in that particular election, advocates point out.
Because the neighborhood is racially diverse, government officials have been accused of ignoring the health risks posed to minorities living in the area. Octavio Solorzano, an 18-year-old resident of Bayview Hunter’s Point, told those gathered at the meeting that his blood has tested positive for asbestos and mercury and that he has been feeling so badly that his high school grade point average has fallen drastically during Lennar’s construction.
Department of Public Health Director Dr. Mitchell Katz continues to tell local residents that “asbestos levels in the Bayview area are not as dangerous as they might appear,” and that it is “normal” for a child to have nose bleeds and asthma.
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