One of the United States’ most polluted sites is slated to become the location of a United Nations-sponsored climate change complex, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said Aug. 10.
In 1989, the 140-year-old Hunters Point Shipyard adjacent to San Francisco Bay was placed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priorities List of polluted sites. The shipyard was established in 1869 as the first dry dock on the Pacific Coast. In 1940, the U.S. Navy took over ownership, using the site for ship building, repair and maintenance operations. Later, submarine servicing and testing was done at the site.
The shipyard spans 936 acres; more than half is on land and the rest under water in the Bay. In 1987, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), trichloroethylene and other solvents, pesticides, petroleum hydrocarbons, and metals were identified at the site. It was closed in 1994.
Since the 1990s, $500 million has been appropriated to the site for cleanups.
Together, the United Nations Global Compact group and the EPA are transforming the site into a complex that will house a climate change think tank, conference center and UN offices. The UN Global Compact Sustainability Center, to be completed in 2012, will focus on addressing solutions to environmental problems. The UN Global Compact was formed in 2000 and is comprised of six UN agencies including UNEP.
"We are excited to partner with the City of San Francisco to work towards securing a sustainability center for the UN Global Compact", said Gavin Power, Deputy Director of the UN Global Compact.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger just announced dates for a second global conference for local government leaders to discuss climate change and local solutions. The conference is scheduled for Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.
