HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Environmental Protection Agency is announcing additional testing in an area of Houston’s Fifth Ward identified as a cancer cluster.
Residents there have been demanding action for more than four years.
“It’s like a lost city. There’s no life around here. It’s just dead,” Mary Hutchins said.
Hutchins was born and raised in her Fifth Ward home. Now, she’s desperate to leave.
“Everybody has been down here. They see what’s going on, but there’s nothing happening,” she said. “So, how long do we stay if we can’t afford to leave?”
When Hutchins was growing up, a chemical used to treat rail ties was used at a nearby rail yard now operated by Union Pacific.
The chemical is now known to cause cancer, and testing has shown it’s still in the ground in much of Fifth Ward.
Starting in just a few months, Union Pacific is scheduled to start testing its facility for potential contamination.
The EPA will oversee the testing and eventually, sign off on a response plan.
Hutchins was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last year.
Down the street, Barbara Beal has lung cancer.
“They can test all they want. Just let me know. Buy me out,” she said. “Test the ground. Have the ground. Use it for your benefit. Honestly, I don’t care. I really don’t.”
“We’re hurting down here, and we should be able to have the right to have a decent neighborhood,” Hutchins added.
Eyewitness News has reached out to the EPA and Union Pacific for more specifics but hasn’t heard back.