By David Taylor / Managing Editor
The first of two public meetings with Texas Health and Environment Alliance last Tuesday left many residents with more questions about the study and what the state plans to do in light of the results.
Nearly 100 residents packed the San Jacinto Community Center in Highlands, Texas to hear from THEA founder/executive director Jackie Medcalf and only two representatives, one from Harris County Commissioners Pct. 2 and one from Pct. 3, were the only ones to show. In fairness, state officials are in the middle of the legislature meeting, and Medcalf did have a preview meeting with about 12 reps prior to the meeting.
Also missing were representatives from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). A table with three balloons tied to their chairs sat empty at the front.
“We asked for this study that we’re going to discuss tonight and in the year that we worked with the DSHS, they told us that they would do outreach with us. They told us that they would host community meetings with us. We invited them to this meeting, and we invited them to the identical meeting that we will have on the 21st in Crosby, and they declined to join us at either of the meetings,” a frustrated Medcalf told the crowd. “It’s a little upsetting that they declined to participate.”
THEA was celebrating their 10th birthday as a full-fledged organization.
“We’re a nonprofit funded by individuals and foundations. We are not the government, nor are we lawyers, or a not for profit organization. We use strategic science, grassroots, community organizing, regulatory expertise, environmental health literacy and media exposure to try to bring about change and help communities impact change,” Medcalf described the organization.
Medcalf, who has cancer, alongside her mother began investigation the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site because it was and still is in part, sitting in the river at the time, openly exposed.
“None of us knew anything about it. We recreated right on top of it or beside it,” she said.
Now, the message is getting out through multi-media, social media, post cards, emails, newspaper, and yard signs.
The message was the 2025 Texas DSHS cancer assessment for East Harris County which designated over 250 square miles as a cancer cluster.
“What is a cancer cluster? It’s a greater-than-expected number of cancer cases in a group of people, over a specific time period, in a defined geographic area,” Medcalf described it. Cancers are entered into the Texas Cancer Registry based on the residential address of the patient at the time of diagnosis.
The study was originally requested by THEA in February of 2024. At least 29 cancer types were requested from the DSHS assessment, 22 all-age cancers, and 7 childhood cancers. The 250-mile area can be broken down into 65 census tracts.
“We asked for those specific cancer types, because we collect health surveys, and we asked for the types of cancer that area residents were telling us they were concerned about. (see the photo). The types of cancer studied in people of all ages are on the back of your agenda. That table there is from the state study,” she said.
“If you have cancer, or are concerned about a cancer, that’s not on there, I strongly encourage you to fill out one of our health surveys so that we know that there’s a concern for a specific type of cancer.
Medcalf said when the study was finally released and posted, they had a big surprise coming.
“That big surprise was they didn’t break out the study area by census tract. They only gave us information across the entire 65 census tracts, or 250-square mile area.
The DSHS did designate the entire area as a cancer cluster for leukemia, lymphomas, cervical. lung and bronchus cancers.
“The study did not intend to determine the cause of the cancers. We knew going into this that this wasn’t that type of study, however, it should tell us localized information and the next steps are if something is found.
The area is home to 330,000 people and according to a previous land use assessment several years back, the residential land use of the area was projected to double by 2040 and is one of the fastest growing areas in Harris County and a lot of the region gets their drinking water from this area.
“There’s actually five Superfund sites in this area,” Medcalf revealed. “It’s concerning that the state specifically noted that they were looking at cancer types in the San Jacinto river flood plain which has been inundated from river flooding whether we got the rain from here or up north,” she said.
THEA requested a second cancer assessment in February of 2024. The results were promised in the fall of 2024 but were only released recently. It determined the study area, as a whole, had unusually high patterns of four cancet types in all ages: leukemia, lympoa, lung and bronchus, and cervix uteri.
Also, of concern, 2022 CDC guidelines referenced in the study state, “It is possible to create or obscure a cluster inadvertently by modifying the area of interest.”
Medcalf said they hated to bring a problem to the community without a solution.
“So where do we go from here? Inform your neighbors and friends and family. There will be another community meeting on April 21 (with Spanish translation available) in Crosby at the community center at 6 p.m. Engage our elected officials and please consider submitting a letter to DSHS and the EPA,” she requested.
Residents can view the meeting in its entirety at https://www.txhea.org/san-jacinto-river.
Lisa Gossett was present in her role as a board member of THEA and also teaches environmental management at the University of Houston Clear Lake. She reminded everyone that THEA doesn’t give medical advice and while offenders should be held responsible, but making the connection who might have caused the issue.
Gene Henigan is a life-long Highlands resident who has seen many of his neighbors and family become victims of cancer.
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