A new housing development is planned near a Bay-side toxic site in Richmond—and a full cleanup isn't in the works despite the grave risks posed to human and environmental health, particularly as sea levels rise.
The site, formerly owned by the pharmaceutical giant, Zeneca, has been shown to contain high levels of hazardous substances like arsenic, mercury, and PCBs.
“We’re already seeing, at high tides and King Tides, that the site is inundated with water,” Baykeeper Director Sejal Choksi-Chugh said in a new climate change feature from NBC Bay Area. With sea level rise, it won’t be long before the Zeneca site is constantly under water, leaching toxic pollutants into the Bay.
Photo of the Zeneca site (paved area) along the Bay, captured by our patrol drone Osprey
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