Soil testing completed by the Environmental Protection Agency and Union Pacific Railroad found higher levels of cancer-causing contaminants outside a community center in Greater Fifth Ward last week, prompting further investigation from the federal agency.
Investigators found a few areas behind the Julia C. Hester House with dioxin, a toxic chemical that can cause cancer, reproductive issues and other health concerns, at 220 and 54 parts per trillion. The EPA’s residential screening level is 48 ppt.
However, according to the EPA, the levels do not immediately pose a threat to the community.
“This should not be a cause for alarm, but it should be a cause for serious concern,” said Harris County attorney Christian Menefee at a press conference at Hester House Monday morning. “Families, children, our seniors are on this land each and every day and we need the EPA to get to the bottom of what’s going on.”
The testing, which sampled soil at schools, parks and other public areas, is a part of the investigation into the potential off-site contamination from the former Southern Pacific Railroad wood preserving works site, which has been ongoing since November 2023. The EPA and Union Pacific shared the testing results to property owners last week – alerting both the Hester House community center and Harris County to contamination on the property.
The contaminated property is on an about 70-yard grassy field behind Hester House near the community center’s daycare. As of Monday, the section is boxed off with orange paint, but the EPA plans to fence it off this week to keep children from playing on it. Dioxin can be potentially harmful when someone frequently touches it or ingests it over a long period of time, according to the EPA.
In a statement, Union Pacific said that “it is premature to identify a source (of the dioxins) before the entire testing and evaluation process is completed.”
The contaminated areas will be evaluated in the upcoming human health risk assessment, according to the EPA. This process should take a few months to complete.
The next soil sampling results should be released by the end of February, followed by March 31 and April 30, according to the published schedule.
Residents who let the EPA test their homes should receive a personal letter informing them of the results on their property. In the case of Hester House, the letter was mailed to Julia C. Hester’s old residence instead of the community center, causing some initial confusion. Hester passed away in 1940.
“There is this extreme disconnect between what’s happening on the ground and the EPA. And it’s emblematic of a larger problem,” said Menefee. “The EPA has really trouble getting people to allow Union Pacific to come in and test their soil. This was a lot of work to get started and a lot of work to get done.”
The EPA will have a public meeting this month to go over the results that have been shared with residents.
New Administration Concerns
A major concern for officials involved in the investigation is the impact that the recent changes in the national administration could have on the future of the project. Since President Trump took office in January, he has targeted environmental justice initiatives, including halting all environmental justice activities and putting nearly 170 employees of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights on paid leave last week.
“It took an incredible amount of work to get the Biden EPA involved here,” said Menefee. “Now we have a new administration, the Trump administration, and my message for them: continue what is being done in Fifth Ward. Continue to work. Do not let up. Do not ignore us and do not walk away.”
Rep. Sylvester Turner, also in attendance at the press conference, expressed a similar concern – noting that he worked closely with Biden EPA administrator Michael Regan on the contamination and cancer cluster.
“I look forward to working closely with Lee Zeldin, who is the new administrator director of the EPA,” Turner said. “This week, I am meeting with Region Six of the EPA and have asked for a meeting with the administrator himself. These are real concerns.”
Regan had toured Greater Fifth Ward and talked with locals about the historic contamination when he was in office.
From 1911 to 1984, Southern Pacific Railroad used the hazardous substance creosote for wood preservation at a rail yard site in Greater Fifth Ward. The company merged with Union Pacific in 1997.
Creosote, which is used to coat railroad ties, is derived from coal and wood. The contaminant – which can contain dioxins – has been shown to cause cancer in the respiratory tract, skin, lungs, pancreas, kidney, central nervous system and other parts of the body. Experts say these chemicals leached underground over time and spread out into the Greater Fifth Ward community, resulting in a contaminated groundwater plume under residential homes just north of the property.
In 2019, the state health department designated the Greater Fifth Ward, Kashmere Gardens and Denver Harbor a cancer cluster for having a higher-than-average level of cancer cases. Following this, Union Pacific, supervised by the EPA, began investigating the contamination.
As of now, the EPA has confirmed that the new administration has not affected the investigation. However, officials have expressed concerns that this could change in a heartbeat.
“We’re watching the current administration, the Trump administration, unfortunately dismantle the very offices charged with fighting for environmental justice,” said Rodney Ellis, Harris County Commissioner for Precinct One. “We encourage the new administration not to do that.”
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