Early this year, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) responded to THEA’s request for an assessment of cancer rates among residents living near the San Jacinto River floodplain in Harris County. The state assessment determined that residents living within a 257 -square mile area are at higher risk from four types of cancer: lung and bronchial cancer, cervical cancer, lymphoma and leukemia.

The size and the scope of the announcement are alarming because it means that more than 330,000 people currently live in a cancer cluster that is one of the largest cancer clusters in the country. The area also supplies much of the drinking water for Harris County, Houston and surrounding Municipal Utility Districts and communities.

From our perspective, it is also troubling because of what it doesn't include. We specifically wanted to know about pockets of abnormal cancer rates within the floodplain, specifically near the five Superfund sites along the river. Our request was for rates of 29 types of cancer, including seven childhood cancers in the 65 census tracts that are located along the river in Harris County. The state’s determination that the entire area is a cancer cluster is valuable, but it is so broad that it makes it hard to look at trends. From a resident’s perspective, it also doesn’t give enough information to identify census tracts that do not have elevated cancer rates.

We have asked the state for a more detailed analysis. Please consider signing on to our letter to the state and EPA.

Sign Our Letter