Houston officials have approved $5 million for a fund to help relocate residents from neighborhoods located near a rail yard polluted by a cancer-linked wood preservative that has been blamed for an increase in cancer cases.
Turner said 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.
In February, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced an order compelling Union Pacific to conduct additional testing in and around the rail yard. In July, Turner said he didn’t want to wait for additional testing and announced a new city program that would help move residents on a voluntary basis.
The Houston Health Department accused Union Pacific of misrepresenting the state’s review of the soil samples, saying the rail yard’s “adverse presence in this community is undeniable.”
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