HOUSTON – The cancer cluster in Houston’s Fifth Ward affecting hundreds of families is something we discuss all the time in our newsroom.
From testing soil in the ground to making sure Union Pacific Company and other agencies are held responsible, our goal is to keep you informed.
Sandra Edwards lives on Lavender Street and has been pushing for change. She spoke. On Thursday, she spoke to KPRC’s Re’Chelle Turner about crews from the EPA digging at home in her neighborhood.
“I’m happy just joy because they are doing something that’s never been done before they are digging and getting results that we need, and we are going to find out how bad it really is in a couple of months. It’s stuff that needs to be done that has never been done that is being done now. I’m just part to be in the middle of it just to be a part of it,” Edwards said.
The law firm of Collins Elizondo says a Texas Appeals Court said the environmental agencies will have to stay in a lawsuit filed by two people who live near the railyard.
“This is great news for folks in Kashmere Gardens and Fifth Ward because it shows we are going to be able to talk about the contamination here but how it’s been misrepresented for the past 20 years and they are intentionally ignoring stuff so it’s very important,” Attorney Wayne Collins said.
“I’m proud to be a part of Fifth Ward. I’m proud to be a fifth Wardian,” Edwards said.
It’s good news for people like Sandra who has no plans to leave the area.
“This was my grandparents’ house and they left this for us, and it wasn’t just to give away and give to other people to make money off of it. This is for homestead,” she said.
“It’s time for us to have something. It’s time and I pray that we get a good outcome,” Carolyn Green said.
KPRC’s Re’Chelle Turner also spoke to Carolyn Green. The 75-year-old moved from Fifth Ward and says the railyard caused her to get cancer twice.
“Well, when I was young, it used to rain in Fifth Ward. When it would rain in Fifth Ward, we always had rainbows on the ground for some reason but never knew what they were. We used to play in the rainbows and as time went on, we were told it was contamination. I assumed it was creosote, but they said it was tar,” she said.
“My mother died from cancer, colon cancer and so did my sister. I had cancer twice. I had a double mastectomy,” she said.
Caroline saw the railyard that contained harmful chemicals.
“This right here is Southern Pacific but right here is where it all begins all this is creosote on this street right here all the way down. We were all affected by this not knowing why we got this cancer,” she said.
Reporter Re’Chelle Turner asked Ms. Green about other families who continue to live in the area.
“If they could move them, I think they probably would, but they are unable. My question to you all is this we know this area is contaminated, so why are they still putting buildings out here? Is that a cover-up. They are building them all over Fifth Ward in a contaminated area,” she said.
A representative reached out to KPRC 2 about the lawsuit:
“While named in the lawsuit, the appellate court decision has no impact on Union Pacific. That case was filed by a third party and is related to the required paperwork necessary to sue a professional engineer or firm. Union Pacific fully intends to continue moving forward with its commitments to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the EPA and Fifth Ward community as we pursue new testing in Fifth Ward.”
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