In a shocking revelation, a recent investigation has uncovered the disturbing history of a San Francisco navy lab that became a center for unethical human radiation experiments during the Cold War era. The Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory, once headquartered at the Hunters Point naval shipyard, knowingly exposed at least 1,073 people, including servicemen, dockworkers, and lab employees, to potentially harmful levels of radiation between 1946 and 1963.
Unethical Experiments and Disregard for Safety
A review of thousands of government and academic records by the San Francisco Public Press revealed that the lab conducted at least 24 experiments involving human radiation exposure, far more than previously acknowledged by official reviews. These ethically fraught studies included:
- Exposing soldiers to “simulated nuclear fallout” in field exercises
- Applying radioactive substances to forearms and hands in clinical studies
- Injecting or orally administering radioactive materials to subjects
- Tracking exposure of workers attempting to decontaminate irradiated ships
Astonishingly, top civilian and military officials pre-approved these risky experiments in writing, often advocating taking shortcuts with human subjects without proper informed consent or animal testing, in apparent violation of the Nuremberg Code’s ethical guidelines established after the atrocities of Nazi experiments.
Cavalier Attitude and Lax Standards
Documents show that lab officials downplayed the quantities of radioactive materials used as “minimal,” despite the reality that no one fully understood the long-term effects of low-level exposure. Safety was often treated as secondary to gaining potentially advantageous military knowledge.
“We were aware of the signs, the symptoms, and the damage that would be caused by high levels of radiation,” admitted a prominent UC Berkeley biophysicist who cooperated with the lab. “But down at the low end of the dose range, no one was sure, and unfortunately, no one is sure even to this day as to whether there is a threshold and what the very low levels would do.”
The cavalier attitude extended to accidents, with at least 33 incidents of radiation doses exceeding federal exposure limits documented in lab safety reports. Yet no evidence has emerged of any disciplinary actions taken by regulators or military supervisors.
Consent and Racial Dynamics
While lab documents often described participants as “volunteers,” many servicemen dispute this characterization, noting the coercive nature of military orders. Refusal to participate could result in disciplinary measures or even imprisonment.
“In the military, they tell you what to do, and you do it,” stated Eldridge Jones, an African American army corporal who was exposed to radiation multiple times, both at nuclear weapons tests and in lab-organized experiments. “Nobody had an opportunity to opt out.”
The Hunters Point neighborhood, predominantly Black by the 1960s, has long suffered from the toxic legacy of the shipyard. Advocates argue the military’s failure to adequately address the pollution amounts to environmental racism, as the navy is accused of misleading the community about health risks for decades.
Persistent Contamination and Redevelopment Woes
Today, the former shipyard remains one of the most contaminated sites in the country, despite the navy spending over $1.3 billion on cleanup efforts plagued by delays and a contractor fraud scandal. As the city pushes forward with plans to redevelop the area with housing and commercial space, residents and workers fear the ongoing presence of radioactive and toxic materials.
“We do have a say in determining whether or not any land is transferred to the city and county of San Francisco,” asserted Shamann Walton, a city supervisor representing the Bayview district. “Without a 100% cleanup, that land transfer does not take place.”
While the navy insists it is committed to thorough remediation and transparency, critics remain skeptical, pointing to the department’s history of downplaying risks and misleading the public. The dark legacy of the lab’s unethical experiments and the shipyard’s pollution continues to haunt the community, serving as a grim reminder of the human costs of the Cold War’s reckless pursuit of military advantage at any price.
