Fifth Ward residents address cancer cluster with area leaders
HOUSTON - Residents who live in a state-identified cancer cluster say they've felt forgotten for years. So, some who live in that Fifth Ward neighborhood are having a strong reaction to an event that's underway there where residents and community leaders have gathered.
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"It's something long overdue, and I am so happy and amazed at all the work that we've put into it. All of these people are coming together to work with us to make things happen," says Fifth Ward resident Sandra Edwards.
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Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and City Councilwoman Dr. Letitia Plummer are holding a three-day Fifth Ward Cancer Cluster Summit.
Fifth Ward residents say they're grateful they're no longer in this battle alone, but they say after too many years and deaths, they are ready for the fight to end.
"We want it to stop. Enough is enough. So many lives have been lost," cries Fifth Ward resident LaTonya Payne, whose son was diagnosed with cancer when he was just 9-years-old.
"I am a two-time breast cancer survivor, but my son Corinthian Giles, passed away from Leukemia in 2021," says Payne. Corinthian was just 13 -years-old.
According to the state health department, childhood leukemia is five times higher in Fifth Ward, where the state has found elevated counts of the types of cancers known to be associated with the kinds of chemicals found at the Union Pacific Railroad site. Residents say those chemicals have been ignored for years in the predominantly Black area.
"We want clean water. We want clean soil. We just want to be able to live like everyone else around, that doesn't live in a low-income community. We just want safety," Payne says.
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A number of residents say they feel they are gambling with their lives, simply because of their address.
"I am gambling. Every day, I wake up it's a gamble," Edwards adds.
Residents say where you live shouldn't make you sick and simply residing in a particular zip code should not be a death sentence.
"This is our home. It's all we have," Edwards adds while wiping tears.
Residents say they are grateful for the summit to address possible solutions to the cancer cluster in Fifth Ward.
"This cancer cluster is part of a larger problem for Black and brown communities. We cannot let any more people die," says Houston City Councilwoman Dr. Letitia Plummer.
"Let's get the neighbors together and let Union Pacific know it is not going to go away. It is better for them to be productively aggressive, and a trust fund would be preferable, opposed to dropping dollars here and there," says Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
"Environmental injustice is a real issue...and we the government have to step in," says Harris County Attorney Christian Menafee.
"This is one of my favorite pictures of him and this is my son's ashes," says Payne, pointing to her baby's photo in a locket around her neck and what looks like a dangling charm with angel wings on the necklace right next to it. "I'm going to continue to fight for justice for him and for this community until l have no more breath in my body."
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Union Pacific released the following statement:
In collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the City of Houston, Harris County, and the Bayou City Initiative, Union Pacific is moving forward with additional testing in Houston’s Fifth Ward, the neighborhood near the former Houston Wood Preserving Works (HWPW) site. The timeline for the EPA’s required testing was presented to residents at two informational meetings in the Fifth Ward last week. We will be in the neighborhood in the coming weeks obtaining access agreements for testing on individual properties. We strongly urge residents to grant this access as the results of the testing will determine the path forward. We pledge transparency and communication as we maneuver through this process. Information is always available at https://www.houstonwoodpreservingworks.com/. For answers to questions, please email to HWPWForward@up.com.
It's important to note, the former HWPW site occupies less than 0.4% of the identified cancer cluster territory, according to the Texas State Department of Health Service’s 2019 study.