Residents and local officials have long blamed the high number of cancer cases on contamination from a rail yard originally owned by Southern Pacific and later bought by Union Pacific near two historically Black neighborhoods, Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens. The wood preservative creosote, which has been associated with an increased risk of contracting cancer, was used for more than 80 years at the site until the 1980s. City officials say the contamination has reached the groundwater in the neighborhoods.
During a city council meeting in which the funding was approved, Mayor Sylvester Turner said Houston “has a moral obligation” to help relocate residents away from the four different cancer clusters that have been identified in recent years. Health officials have found higher rates of respiratory cancers as well as childhood cancers, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
It’s great this is happening, but in a just world Union Pacific would be forking over $5MM, not everyone else.
Privatize the gains, socialize the losses.
First rule of unfettered capitalism.
Protected by unchecked conservatism.
That’s not very much money at all to relocate people. This is maybe enough for 25 households.
The article says, “relocating families from among the 100 properties that have been affected by the contamination could cost up to $35 million. The city is looking at other sources, including federal funding, to help pay for the relocation program.”
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If you own a home in the area any equity you have there has probably been made pretty worthless. It would make it pretty hard to move if you couldn’t sell your home to afford another.
The fuck you gonna buy house for <175K plus moving expenses? Not like you’re gonna be able to easily sell your house in THE CANCER ZONE.
where are you getting a home for less than 170k?
Houston
Nope. Looks like I missed the line where the total funds are 35 million. 350k is enough to get a house and move an established family.
Good on them for doing something.
Yeah, but $5m sounds kind of low. That’ll buy, what, 10 homes?
In Houston, maybe 20. They’re working on getting more funding, according to the article, but they definitely need more.
Can’t they just take it from the company that profited off of pollution?
If they do, they’ll tie it up in the courts for decades. Meanwhile, people will be getting cancer and dying.
The problem is the feds and SCOTUS have failed to protect people instead of capitalism.
Of course it just so happens they’ll be moving people from some of the poorest neighborhoods breaking up the community and diluting their votes elsewhere. It’s not specifically the reason for doing this, but is definitely a side effect
