Diseaseville

Asthma, cancer, and other illnesses occur at higher-than-average rates in Hunters Point. Many residents blame the nearby Navy shipyard, one of the most contaminated ex-military bases in the nation.

A A A Comments By Lisa Davis Wednesday, Aug 27 2003

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Anthony Pidgeon

Shaaron Green-Peace's home is contaminated with asbestos.

Anthony Pidgeon

Shaaron Green-Peace and her fiance are living in a motor home in their parking lot.

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Webb would like to see environmental testing done, but she's not anticipating drastic change any time soon. The shipyard has been a part of this neighborhood for longer than she has. So has pollution, and so has disease. In fact, the shipyard's history is so intertwined with the community that what might be striking revelations about environmental contamination for another neighborhood are, in Hunters Point, unsurprising additions to a legacy of gradual poisoning.

"I know they [shipyard workers] had lots of dumping in the water and in the ground that polluted. Neighbors and friends told us about it. We just didn't think about it," Webb says. "People were more concerned about making a living."

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