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HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Houstonians boarded a bus to Austin early Wednesday morning to attend a hearing where the Fifth Ward cancer cluster will be addressed.
The busload of people will say their piece in front of the Sunset Advisory Commission, an agency that evaluates how other agencies, like the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, in the state are doing and what changes need to be made.
The Sunset Advisory Commission meets every 12 years, so a lot of people on the bus feel like this is their chance.
“We’re concerned about the water we’re drinking, we’re concerned about the air we’re breathing. We can’t wait another decade plus for change because people will die,” said Texas Sen. Borris Miles.
was there before the bus of 60 people took off and asked everyone who boarded how they were feeling. Several people said they are tired of being ignored.
We have reported several times before on the effects the residents of Fifth Ward have felt for decades. They said TCEQ must do more to clean up their community.
Back in 2019, the contaminated area was named as a “cancer cluster” site. It’s the area around the Union Pacific Railroad.
Union Pacific once used a chemical there called creosote which can cause cancer. People have been getting sick around that area for decades.
More than 1,300 Fifth Ward residents are suing Union Pacific over the contamination. A spokesperson for the transport company told us in May that they need the TCEQ to approve their cleanup plan so they can focus on protecting the environment and health and safety of the public.