HOUSTON – Cancer Clusters in the Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens area have been a story KPRC 2 has covered extensively over the past few years.
We’ve talked to residents in the area, like 75-year-old Carolyn Green who was forced to move away from the area after getting diagnosed with cancer twice.
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“My mother died from cancer, colon cancer and so did my sister. I had cancer twice. I had a double mastectomy,” she said.
Green, who lived near the Union Pacific Railroad, said the railyard 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. (It should be noted that Union Pacific took over the site from Southern Pacific in 1997.)
In March, the Environmental Protection Agency, responsible for overseeing Union Pacific’s testing efforts, revealed their initial test results. The findings revealed heightened concentrations of harmful chemicals in the neighborhoods’ water and soil.
Union Pacific took 117 samples from the soil, groundwater, and sewers on private properties and shared public areas.
“We had no proof. Now the proof is here. The proof is there. Now, what can Union Pacific say? It shows that we were here. What we were saying all along was true,” said Sandra Edwards, one of the Fifth Ward neighbors who is calling for accountability.
KPRC 2 Investigates did some digging and discovered in a December 1993 EPA report, that various findings of contaminated soil were discovered at the railyard site in the mid-80s.
Now 30 years later, Union Pacific in collaboration with the EPA and others are testing the soil again.
“The city’s version of the plume and what it encompasses right now is apparently very arbitrary and small. I don’t think they actually know, they’re guessing,” said Jason Gibson, a lawyer representing more than 4,000 clients in the Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens.
According to Gibson, the area contaminated underground known as the ‘plume’ is stretching further than what the city and officials are telling residents.
Last year, Houston City Council took the initial step of approving $5 million to help residents move out of the cancer clusters, however, that money has been put on hold after the newly-elected Mayor John Whitmire came into office and found millions being steered for administrative actions instead of relocation. Residents have expressed skepticism surrounding the city’s relocation program launched by former Mayor Sylvester Turner. While they stayed put, developers - approved by the Turner administration - have continued to build on what many have said is contaminated soil.
“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,” Green said.
In the past year, several new homes and even a children’s playground have been built near the cancer clusters.
“I went driving myself in Fifth Ward, and the first thing I noticed was the redevelopment. It’s striking to see the improvements the city is providing at a time that we’re trying to relocate individuals. I was flagged down at a couple of stop signs by residents that said they didn’t want to move. They thought it was a land play or gentrification, largely by developers,” said Whitmire during a Jan. 10 city council meeting.
Before Whitmire stopped permit issuance in January, the city of Houston issued eight permits for new single-family homes and 17 permits for new multifamily buildings in the blocks surrounding the Union Pacific rail yard.
“Don’t nobody care about us because we black and Hispanic, if it was River Oaks they would have done something,” said resident Barbara Mouton who said she developed stage one breast cancer from living in the area. “They got some brand new houses. They got some brand new things they can build over. There it is, new duplexes. They don’t care. All they want is some money. They don’t care about us.”
In Texas, it’s a tale of loose regulations when it comes to what sellers and landlords reveal to clients and renters, as per real estate agents and city officials. Unlike some states, there’s no mandate for such evaluations here, according to the Texas Administrative Code.
So, who’s left holding the moral compass? Well, sellers and real estate agents are left to wrestle with ethical dilemmas about what information to dish out to buyers.
“We’ve tried to approach the owners of these new developments to say, we’ll test your property for free. And every single one of them has refused. They don’t want to know,” Gibson said.
The Houston-based attorney added that developers who are building in the contaminated areas are not even asking about the soil or checking to see if it’s contaminated.
“You know why? Because of money, greed. You know, they can come over here and buy lots for cheap. They throw a house or condo up or a townhome, and then they sell it and, you know, and make a profit,” Gibson said. “And then the people that live there, you know, are exposed to these contaminants that are being found. It’s no secret the historic contamination that’s taking place here at the rail yard. It’s no secret that it’s gotten off-site and in the groundwater. The deal has been, and Union Pacific has said for decades, that it’s not going to affect the residents, in any shape, form, or fashion. But we’re learning now that that’s not the truth,” said Gibson.
So, what’s next? More tests, according to the EPA.
Union Pacific also has issued a permit proposal to clean up, which includes a 3,400-foot-long underground barrier, which they say will stop the spread of contaminated water.
“While previous testing has shown no risk to residents, we’re aiming for thoroughness for the safety of the community. Union Pacific is working with the EPA on a testing plan to re-check vapor movement and guide next actions,” the company said in a statement sent to KPRC 2 Investigates on April 26.
Residents who have heard of the proposal believe it’s not enough.
See more of KPRC 2′s coverage of cancer clusters: