Who This Site Helps
Veterans • Families • Journalists • Lawmakers • Researchers
Toxic Service was created to help veterans, families, journalists, lawmakers and researchers understand what happened on Naval Station Treasure Island and similar military bases with long histories of hazardous waste and fire-training operations. This site compiles government reports, radiological surveys, BRAC cleanup documents, DTSC files, peer-reviewed studies, and high-resolution contamination maps. Veterans who served, lived, or trained on Treasure Island can use these materials to build detailed exposure histories and strengthen their VA disability claims. Lawmakers and journalists rely on these resources to better understand how environmental contamination affects military families long after a base closes. Whether you are gathering evidence for a claim, researching toxic contaminants, or advocating for policy reform, this site serves as a comprehensive public archive.
Start Here: Key Resources for Veterans and Families
These essential guides and tools will help you understand toxic exposures at Naval Station Treasure Island and build a strong VA disability claim with confidence.
Exposing a Toxic Legacy in the Heart of San Francisco Bay
For decades, service members, civilian workers, and families lived and worked at Naval Station Treasure Island, believing they were part of a safe and proud chapter of American military history. What many didn’t know was that beneath the surface, the island had been contaminated by decades of military training, maintenance, and waste disposal involving radioactive materials, toxic chemicals, and hazardous waste.
Toxic Service was created to bring visibility, truth, and accountability to the hidden dangers of Former Naval Station Treasure Island, one of the nation’s most complex and controversial toxic cleanup sites. Our mission is to promote transparency, advocacy, and justice for those who have been exposed—and to ensure that no one’s service, health, or story is forgotten.
Why Treasure Island Matters
Located in the center of San Francisco Bay, Treasure Island was built in 1936 for the Golden Gate International Exposition and later converted into a U.S. Navy training and administrative base. From the 1940s through the early 1990s, thousands of sailors and civilian personnel worked here many taking part in nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare training exercises, ship decontamination operations, and hazardous material handling.
When the Navy decommissioned the base in 1997, investigators discovered widespread contamination: radionuclides such as cesium-137 and radium-226, as well as TCDD, PCBs, TCE, arsenic, lead, and petroleum byproducts. Decades of exposure have left behind serious environmental and health concerns that continue to affect residents and cleanup workers to this day.
Our Mission
Toxic Service exists to uncover the truth and empower those affected. We work to:
- Promote transparency in the government’s cleanup efforts and reporting.
- Advocate for accountability from the Department of Defense, Navy, and federal agencies responsible for toxic exposures.
- Support veterans, residents, and workers in understanding their potential exposure and connecting them to VA claims, medical resources, and legal assistance.
- Preserve history and amplify voices of those who lived through it.
Many who served or lived at Treasure Island never knew they were exposed. By bringing the facts to light, Toxic Service helps individuals recognize symptoms, document exposure histories, and pursue the benefits and healthcare they deserve.
Why This Site Exists
This isn’t just another website about pollution it’s a living archive where research meets real-life experience.
- Veterans, families, and civilians can access verified information about contamination on Treasure Island and how it may affect their health.
- Researchers and journalists can explore declassified Navy documents, EPA site data, and cleanup reports that reveal how deeply contamination runs.
- Lawmakers and advocates can see the human cost of environmental negligence and find tools to push for stronger oversight and inclusion of Treasure Island under the PACT Act.
Toxic Service exists because too many people have been left without answers. Our goal is to make sure their stories, health, and service are recognized, respected, and acted upon.
What You’ll Find Here
- Historical Documentation:
Declassified U.S. Navy, EPA and California DTSC reports that detail contaminants and cleanup progress. - Environmental & Health Research:
Learn about toxic substances like PFAS, PCBs, TCE, and radionuclides and their long-term health impacts. - Maps and Timelines:
Interactive visuals showing where contamination occurred, the extent of cleanup, and how the island’s redevelopment intersects with remaining hazards. - Advocacy Tools:
Get guidance on filing VA toxic exposure claims, contacting elected officials, and joining advocacy efforts to demand inclusion of Treasure Island in national toxic exposure programs.
Explore. Learn. Take Action.
Every page on this site is built to educate, empower, and inspire action.
Start by learning the history of Treasure Island, review Navy and EPA investigation reports, and read the personal accounts of those who served there. Then, use our advocacy resources to contact lawmakers, file claims, and share your story.
When contamination is hidden, truth becomes a form of resistance and exposure becomes a form of service.
Explore. Learn. Take Action. Because the legacy of Treasure Island deserves the full light of truth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Treasure Island contained PFAS, radiological waste, PCBs, TCE, petroleum hydrocarbons, dioxins, lead, arsenic, and other contaminants documented in EPA and Navy BRAC reports.
ToxicService.org provides maps, EPA documents, exposure histories, and step-by-step VA claim guidance to help veterans establish service-connection for conditions linked to toxic exposure.
Yes. Treasure Island is a former Naval Station with multiple contaminated zones, including radiological and chemical sites. Portions have undergone extensive remediation and EPA evaluation. Although Treasure Island is not on the National Priorities List (NPL), it is listed on the EPA Superfund Site with EPA ID: CA7170023330
Yes. Many of the reports, maps, and historical documents are the same materials used by environmental regulators and can support a veteran’s exposure narrative and nexus evidence.
About Toxic Service
Toxic Service was created to help veterans, families, journalists, lawmakers, and researchers understand what happened on Naval Station Treasure Island and similar military bases with long histories of hazardous waste and fire-training operations. This site compiles government reports, radiological surveys, BRAC cleanup documents, DTSC files, peer-reviewed studies, and high-resolution contamination maps. Veterans who served, lived, or trained on Treasure Island can use these materials to build detailed exposure histories and strengthen their VA disability claims. Lawmakers and journalists rely on these resources to better understand how environmental contamination affects military families long after a base closes. Whether you are gathering evidence for a claim, researching toxic contaminants, or advocating for policy reform, this site serves as a comprehensive public archive.