A train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in an Ohio town earlier this month, sending smoke plumes over the town of East Palestine.
Many residents in the entire state have said they are now concerned about their health.
It’s a story resonating with homeowners living in Houston’s Fifth Ward cancer cluster.
Sandra Edwards said she understands what the 5,000 residents in that Ohio town are going through after a Norfolk Southern train hauling toxic chemicals derailed.
“Deja Vu all over again but different states,” Edwards said.
Edwards lives on Lavender Street in the historic Fifth Ward. Her street sits across from Union Pacific’s railyard. It’s a site where toxic chemicals such as dioxins and creosote were discovered in 2019.
Edwards said many people in her neighborhood have either died from cancer, have been diagnosed with cancer, or may be dealing with some sort of health issue from years of exposure.
“We are losing people daily. We are getting reports of people getting cancer,” she added.
She said she’s praying for the people in East Palestine who were impacted by the derailment. There are concerns there about the safety of the air, water, and soil.
“They had a derailment. They had a chemical spill,” Edwards said. “They’re gonna go through what we went through, and they’re gonna have a fight on their hands. Cause they denied they had anything to do with it, with the people dying after the deaths start.”
Jennifer Hadayia is the Executive Director of Air Alliance Houston. She said Houston has a train issue — from noise nuisances to derailments.
“Even a few days after the East Palestine derailment, there was a derailment about 30 minutes outside of Houston in Splendora, Texas,” Hadayia said. “Thankfully, that derailment did not result in the kind of environmental disaster we’re seeing in other places.”
She fears the city could have even more trains traveling through our neighborhoods daily if a proposed merger between Canada Pacific and Kansas City Southern goes through.
“If that merger goes through, it will bring more trains through Houston every day and those trains will be carrying toxic chemicals including fuel that is flammable. We raised our concerns to the transportation board and just days before the East Palestine disaster,” Hadayia said.
Jack Hanagriff is the Rail Safety and Mobility Coordinator for the East End District. He said the Houston area sees about 124 trains daily, 60 of which pass through the East End. Hanagriff said the East End is where four railroads meet and operate daily — mostly hauling hazardous materials.
“With all this going on, they’re still the safest mode of transport so they can move the most volatile commodities safely and more safely than any other transportation network,” he said.
Hanagriff said living in Houston, spills, accidents, and hazardous waste are encountered often enough that first responders are well-equipped to handle them.
“I think the one concern the fire department has with trains is the mixture of commodities and during a collision, those can often mix, and now you don’t know what chemical you’re dealing with,” Hanagriff said.
As far as being notified about toxic chemicals being hauled on trains, Hanagriff said that communication already exists here in Texas.
“Notifying the public is a different story because then you’re starting to get into the homeland security aspect and these other deals but they do notify first responders of those communities when they have certain products coming through here,” he said.