Color me pelican on a winter’s day at the Seaplane Lagoon

Alameda Point 2012 environmental cleanup review, and busy year ahead

Cleanup activity at Alameda Point in 2012 started where it left off in 2011 — at the Seaplane Lagoon.  The northwest corner of the lagoon was the site of the second and final phase of lagoon dredging, which targeted sediment that had been contaminated near storm drain outfalls.  With dredging completed by spring, the sight […]

Young osprey at Alameda Point leaving soon

Parent osprey landing with fish as fledgling waits on right, with parent looking on. This is the third year that a pair of ospreys has nested on the old light stand at the entrance to the Seaplane Lagoon.  This year’s mating effort produced one fledgling.  As June draws to a close, the fledgling can been seen […]

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 […]

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                     […]

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 […]

Seaplane Lagoon Dredging Update

Radioactive radium waste not an issue  The massive pile of dredge mud that has been sitting between the Seaplane Lagoon and the hangars is now dry enough to be tested to determine the exact contaminant profile and hauled away.  The contaminant of greatest concern to community has been radium-226, the radioactive ingredient once used to […]

Environmental Cleanup – Seaplane Lagoon; RAB Tour; Lead; Groundwater

Seaplane Lagoon dredging contractor fails to meet deadline The Navy was expecting the contractor to complete the dredging of both the northeast corner and the northwest corner of the Seaplane Lagoon by mid-April prior to the arrival of the endangered California Least Terns.  The terns nest on the Wildlife Refuge and feed in the Seaplane […]

Point Being: Are Point Veggies Safe?

Is it safe to eat vegetables grown at Alameda Point? A little-known EPA study conducted in 2005 around the Big Whites and Alameda Point Collaborative housing tried to answer that question. In the study, researchers collected fruits, vegetables and edible weed plants such as apples, figs, tomatoes, fava bean seeds, and also flowers of Cat’s Ear which […]

Point Being: March Mudness

Seaplane Lagoon Dredging Raises Concerns Radioactive alarm bells went off for many people when they saw the radiological warning signs posted on the fencing around the Seaplane Lagoon dredging operation. But so far, air readings have shown insignificant levels of radiation. The first soil testing of the dredge mud will take place this summer. The dredging operation […]

Point Being: Clean Ups and Downs

Cleanup at Alameda Point continues to unfold. Every month the Restoration Advisory Board meets to stay apprised of the happenings and offer comments. The public is invited to attend on the first Thursday of the month, 6:30 p.m. at the rear of City Hall West at Alameda Point. Here are some highlights from the February […]