"No Charter School On SF Radioactive Superfund Site!" Say Pols. & Environmentalists

Environmentalists and San Francisco political candidates spoke out at a press conference on October 25, 2019, at the Life Learning Academy charter school in San Francisco Treasure Island to warn of serious dangers to the health and safety of the students and staff at the school and call for an investigation.

The privately run publicly funded charter school is in one of the most heavily radioactive dumpsites in the United States and was previously certified as a Superfund site.

Speakers included:
Francisco Da costa Director of Environmental Justice Advocacy
Joel Ventressca, Candidate For San Francisco Mayor
Steve Zeltzer United Public Workers For Action
Bob Coleman, Candidate For SFUSD Board of Education, Lawyer, Artist & Editor

The speakers talked about the lack of any health and safety oversight at the charter school.
The students and staff have been contaminated by radioactive contaminants, massive amounts of peeling lead paint which is only a short distance from the school and uncovered removal of contaminated Treasure Island earth next to the school without any coverage of the soil for protection.

They also discussed the systemic corruption of San Francisco and California politicians including Governor Gavin Newsom, Congresswomen Nancy Pelosi, Senator Diane Feinstein and San Francisco Mayor London Breed who have all been aware of the dangerous contaminants on the island.

The supposed $1 billion “clean-up” by Tetra Tech and Test America of San Francisco's Treasure Island along with Hunters Point has found to be fraudulent and faked by these companies.


Tetra Tech workers like Robert McLean discovered significant highly radioactive contamination in the former US Navy Testing and Training Center for dealing with radioactive contamination from nuclear radioactive material.

Thousands of sailors have contaminated as well as their families who lived on the Island the residents of Treasure Island.
Tetra Tech presently has two managers in prison for coercing Tetra Tech workers to falsify information at the testing at Hunters Point. Tetra Tech along with the Navy has publicly argued that the Island is now “safe”.

Participants in the press conference will discuss the continued health and safety dangers including at the charter school Life Learning Academy where young students have been subject to contamination from the shipyard radioactivity and the toxins being released in the present redevelopment plans.

Mayor London Breed, Governor Gavin Newsom, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Dianne Feinstein, and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi have all been involved in support of the development of Treasure Island along with Hunters Point Shipyard and are aware of a growing number of residents and workers who have become sickened with cancer and other illnesses caused from contamination. Tetra Tech and Test America Whistleblowers who protested the failure to properly clean up the shipyard have also been bullied and fired. Mayor London Breed and other politicians continue to support the billion-dollar Eco-fraud and the development of the Hunters Point shipyard with City, State and Federal funds including the over $300 million of US Navy funds spent on the supposed cleanup at San Francisco Treasure Island.
There is still radioactive material on the site despite the supposed remediation and approvals by the State of California Department of Toxic Substances Control agency which is in charge of the remediation and testing according to former state employees who do not have either the staff or competence to do this job.

Cal-OSHA, other state agencies along with Federal OSHA and EPA at present has also refused to do any investigation of the health and safety problems for workers, residents, and students despite their legal responsibilities at this Superfund site. They have also refused to investigate the illegal retaliation of Tetra Tech whistleblowers. This will also be illuminated at the press conference.

The California Department of Education which has oversight of this charter school has also failed to investigate the dangers to the students as a result of the serious health and safety problems at the charter school which is funded by public funds from the SFUSD.
Under CA proposition 39 funded and written by Netflix billionaire Reed Hastings, charter schools are exempted from the Field Act which prevents public schools from being built in toxic dumps or superfund sites which is what Treasure Island is.
Additional media:

What politicians, the Navy and the EPA don’t want you to know: Treasure Island and Hunters Point are equally toxic Superfund sites
https://sfbayview.com/2018/10/what-politicians-the-navy-and-the-epa-dont-want-you-to-know-treasure-island-and-hunters-point-are-equally-toxic-superfund-sites/

"Not A Whisper" Questions Not Asked At Newsom Cox 2018 CA Gubernatorial Debate At KQED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXCXWV7Kfkk&t=41s

Media silent as Navy digs 1,280 radiological objects from Treasure Island
https://sfbayview.com/2018/10/media-silent-as-navy-digs-1280-radiological-objects-from-treasure-island/

Treasure Island & Whistleblowers, Former TI Residents & Advocates Speak Out On Cover-up
https://youtu.be/rtuDlkvWJO8

SF Hunters Point/Treasure Island Radiation Whistleblower Speaks Out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htA8lqYc96Q

Navy altered SF Hunters Point cleanup to cover, not remove, toxic soil
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Report-Navy-altered-Hunters-Point-cleanup-to-14302320.phputm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20&utm_source=share-by-email&utm_medium=email

San Francisco irradiates the poor on Treasure Island
https://sfbayview.com/2019/01/san-francisco-irradiates-the-poor-on-treasure-island/

Production of Labor Video Project
http://www.laborvideo.org