The January, 2006 Richmond ReView features a front page article by Todd Levinson, “Veterans Medical Center set to build new labs.” Levinson notes that “The San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center is continuing its plans to construct research labs on a corner patch of land that borders Seal Rock Drive” and Ft. Miley. The Planning Association for the Richmond (PAR) and concerned neighbors have requested that the VAMC conduct an assessment of the impact on the neighborhood and local environment, but the VAMC claims it is exempt from such a requirement — even though this project will exhaust air, sewage and waste, increase traffic, and increase noise.

While FOLE fully supports research to improve the health of our veterans, we question the appropriateness of locating labs handling biohazards immediately adjacent to residences. “These labs are going to be 75 feet from our homes,” FOLE co-founder David Burns is quoted as saying.

The full story is available at the Richmond ReView website.

The SF VAMC plans to build a 14,500 square foot building housing wet/dry labs adjacent to residences on the north side of Seal Rock Drive and to national park land (GGNRA Fort Miley).

The building will house animal and other testing involving hazardous materials. The architectural plans indicate the building will include 12 Biosafety Level 2 labs, which are associated with human disease hazard.

Additional environmental concerns include increased noise, light pollution, toxic fumes and waste, as well as the increased traffic associated with a facility that operates 24 hours a day.

To date, the architectural plans and information supplied by the SFVAMC leave many questions unanswered. Neighborhood groups (the Planning Association of the Richmond/PAR, People for a Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Fort Miley Homeowners and Residents Association, and Friends of Land’s End/FOLE) are working to obtain more information about the impact of this building on the Outer Richmond neighborhood.

This document describes the building in more detail – and some of the questions which we would like the SFVAMC to answer.