MARTINEZ — Contra Costa County supervisors today called for additional soil testing in the wake of recent revelations that potentially radioactive dirt was shipped to a landfill near Pittsburg.
The board’s action followed newspaper reports that the federal Environmental Protection Agency had discovered that soil tests at the Hunter’s Point Superfund site in San Francisco, a former naval base, were fabricated and the soil was then trucked to landfills across the state, including Keller Canyon near Pittsburg and Kirby Canyon in Morgan Hill.
“I had no knowledge of this taking place. I’m very disappointed that I had to pick up the paper and read that this had taken place,” District V Supervisor Federal Glover, who represents constituents in Pittsburg and Bay Point, said at Tuesday’s county board meeting.
He wasn’t alone. Pittsburg officials also were chagrined to learn they hadn’t been notified of the potential danger earlier.
“(County) staff was made aware of this 24 hours later, Pittsburg was notified three years later,” Joe Sbranti, Pittsburg’s city manager, said about the way news of some past incidents trickled out. “We do want this issue to not happen again.”
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