History & Asbestos Use
Treasure Island was built for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition and was taken over by the Navy in 1941. It served as a major Pacific Fleet staging area, training center, and ship maintenance facility throughout WWII and the Cold War. The base also hosted the Navy's radiological decontamination operations. Asbestos was used in buildings, ships, and infrastructure throughout the facility. The base closed in 1997 and became a Superfund site.