Toxic Surprise: Affordable housing project in East Houston built on contaminated land
Newly exposed contaminated soil by housing project
Only on FOX, huge swaths of toxic waste has been newly exposed near a controversial east Houston affordable housing project currently under construction. FOX 26 Political Reporter Greg Groogan captured exclusive images of what many believe is a clear and present danger to the future.
HOUSTON - Huge swaths of newly exposed toxic waste have been unearthed near a controversial east Houston affordable housing project currently under construction.
Critics believe the waste poses a "clear and present danger" to future residents.
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The project, known as 800 Middle Street, involves 400 units of low income housing, is also being built in the immediate shadow of a giant radio tower.
FOX 26 reporter Greg Groogan surveyed the newly exposed waste with Alan Atkinson, a neighborhood activist and developer who has been fighting the project for nearly five years.
"What's new is that they have knocked the trees down, and underneath the trees is all this exposed ash," said Atkinson.
"We are talking about ash with lead, with dioxin, with a whole range of ugly poisonous chemicals, right?" asked Groogan.
"Barium, arsenic, dioxins. So, this ash, which originated from the Houston Velasco incinerator where they burned the City trash for many decades, is right where that fence-line is. And it looks to me like they took the ash and used it to fill in the gully. So, this ash could be up to 30 feet deep and directly connected to Buffalo Bayou, which is only 200 feet away. Before the Clean Air Act, most cities, like Houston, burned their trash. It was the simplest way to take all this waste and reduce it to a very small volume. When they burned the ash, what they did was they concentrated it. All the nasty stuff that was in the trash, like lead and barium and arsenic and mercury, it got consolidated to a very toxic form," said Atkinson.
"So, this is the City of Houston's responsibility?" asked Groogan. "It is," said Atkinson.
"And yet the City of Houston is planning to move hundreds of families into this apartment complex?" asked Groogan.
"400 low-income families, which means 500 or 600 kids, and where are they going to play? I mean this is on the same property that they spent $54 million federal housing dollars. It's illegal to use federal housing dollars to buy contaminated property," said Atkinson.
"Does that amount to what some describe as 'environmental racism', putting people next to environmental hazards who have no place to go?," asked Groogan.
"Yes, and low-income families that don't have a choice," said Atkinson.
"So they have to live next to this and their kids will be patrolling exploring, playing in this," said Groogan pointing to incinerator ash laden with glass, charred metal, and ceramic chunks.
"Yes. It's morally wrong," said Atkinson.
At its latest meeting, the Houston Housing Authority claimed the area is safe for future residents and still plans to move hundreds of people into the project by the end of the year.
Insiders tell FOX 26 that HHA and its partners on the project may have difficulty obtaining a "certificate of occupancy" from the City given the environmental concerns and precarious proximity to the radio tower.
Well known Houston Investigator Wayne Dolecifino reports the project is under renewed scrutiny by the HUD Office of Inspector General.