Scenic Alameda Point wildlife refuge section to be off limits with security fence

Even after all the cleanup work is completed, the Navy proposes to put a permanent chainlink fence topped with barbared wire around a scenic shoreline section of the wildlife refuge at Alameda Point. “Good grief!  If a fence is needed, will Site 2 be clean enough for our community?” Leora Feeney, co-chair of the Audubon Society’s Friends of the [...]

Seaplane Lagoon cleanup dredging completed [video and slideshow]

Environmental cleanup of the Seaplane Lagoon has centered on two areas where storm sewers drain into the lagoon.  It was commonplace to discharge all sorts of chemicals down storm sewer lines prior to the passage of the federal Clean Water Act in the early 1970s.  Contaminants such as PCBs, cadmium, lead, pesticides, and radium have [...]

Groundwater cleanup back on track at heat treatment site

The groundwater remediation project between two buildings near the East Gate entrance, in the area known as Operating Unit 2B, finally got underway after a long delay in startup since last spring.   During set up, one of the 30-foot-long steel electrodes driven into the ground to generate heat struck a plastic sewer line.  The sewer line [...]

March cleanup meeting announced

Restoration Advisory Board Naval Air Station, Alameda (Alameda Point) March 8, 2012       6:30 PM Location: Alameda Point – 950 West Mall Square (Alameda City Hall West) Room 140 – Community Conference Room Enter from West Midway Avenue at rear of building.   Agenda                     [...]

Restoration Advisory Board Responds to Navy’s Meeting Cutbacks

At the October 2011 Alameda Point Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) meeting, the Navy announced that Alameda Point’s monthly RAB meetings would be reduced to quarterly meetings due to budget cutbacks.  The Navy said it would welcome a written response from the RAB on how the Navy might continue to carry out its responsibilities for community dialogue during [...]

Todd Shipyards copper cleanup

Right next to the Main Street Ferry Terminal, between the Oakland Estuary and the Dog Park, is the Navy’s cleanup Site 28, also known as the Todd Shipyards site.  The contamination at this site — copper and arsenic, and to a lesser extent lead and hydrocarbons — was not the result of Navy activities, even [...]

Precision Dredging at the Pier Area – with video

Designing the workplan for dredging toxic sediment next to Pier 1 at Alameda Point required precision so as not to undermine the stability of the concrete posts supporting the roadway that passes along the pier area.  The ground under the water slopes down nearly 40 feet from the cement parking slab adjacent to Wharf Road.  [...]

Where Alameda Point’s cleanup is at year’s end

  The past year had some high points and low points in the cleanup process at Alameda Point.  Added delays, including a pile-driving surprise, were balanced out by steady progress. The year saw, among other things, completion of a second Point-wide radiological survey of buildings and structures that identified two building interiors needing radium remediation, [...]

Radium Scanning Process at Seaplane Lagoon

Every scoop of dirt that was dredged from the Seaplane Lagoon earlier this year is first sorted into premeasured compartments.  The piles are then tested for heavy metals, PCBs, and pesticides.  But the piles cannot be tested for radium 226. In order to test for radium, every pile has to be scooped back into a [...]

SF Bay Estuary Plan Fails to Connect with Alameda Point

On Sunday, November 11, 2011, Dutra Dredging wrapped up five weeks of maintenance dredging in the channel leading to the Alameda Point docks.  This channel is on the south side of Alameda Point where the maritime ships and USS Hornet are docked.  Half of the dredge soil went to the in-bay disposal site at Alcatraz.  The [...]

Case Study – Soil Cleanup Process at Island High/Woodstock Child Development Center

A Case Study in How the Cleanup Process Works In November of 2008, after years of testing, evaluation, and one emergency soil removal action, the Navy issued the final report on what to do in the area where Island High School and Woodstock Child Development Center are located.  The area is designated Installation Restoration (IR) [...]

Berkeley Lab Site Environmental Plan Released

The Site Management Plan (SMP) for the proposed site of the Berkeley Lab Second Campus at Alameda Point was finalized on November 18.  Prepared by the city’s longtime environmental consultant, and signed off on by the Navy and regulatory agencies, the document was prepared in order to mitigate potential risks associated with development of the [...]

Video: Alameda Point 2011 Cleanup Update

Dr. Peter Russell, the city’s environmental consultant, made a presentation to the Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment Authority on November 2, 2011, updating them on the status of cleanup at Alameda Point. This video is an edited version with added images. (Note:  The phrase “closed site” used in the presentation does not mean off limits.  It [...]

Cleaning Up Jet Fuel at Building 5

Background The Navy has three cleanup programs at Alameda Point:  Superfund, Petroleum, and Radiological.  The Petroleum Program takes care of underground concentrations of petroleum, mostly jet fuel, and is organized by corrective action areas.  One such area outside Building 5 made it onto the calendar this year. Dumping jet fuel – Building 5, the largest [...]