Months after dioxin levels five times higher than federal safety standards were discovered behind Hester House in Houston’s Fifth Ward, new Environmental Protection Agency testing has deemed the area safe for public use. However, some residents remain cautious and have lingering questions about the long-term implications.
In February, Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, alongside the late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner, led a public discussion on troubling findings from an EPA study conducted at Hester House. That study revealed dioxin levels—known carcinogens—measuring five times higher than the federal screening limit for children’s safety. In response, officials pledged to install a fence around the contaminated area to limit public exposure.
Tuesday evening, Ellis returned with EPA Project Manager Casey Luckett-Snyder to share updated findings at a town hall meeting.
According to Luckett-Snyder, Weston Solutions—a third-party environmental contractor—collected over 50 soil samples, each one foot deep, from four separate quadrants in the area. “There is no risk to young children, there is no risk to anyone playing, recreating, having a picnic, doing whatever it is they want to do in the green space behind this building,” Luckett-Snyder announced. “We are here to let the community know it’s completely safe.”
She clarified that the alarming dioxin levels reported in February were primarily due to a single, highly concentrated sample. “It’s like the bug man who spilled a little bit of pesticide,” she said, emphasizing that the contamination did not pose a widespread threat.
Ellis expressed confidence in the results. “I am satisfied with the results,” he said. “We’re going to take the fences down. We want to make sure the community knows. This is a community that has been neglected, overlooked, underserved for many years, so I fully understand the apprehension that people may have.”
That apprehension was on full display during the town hall meeting, where several residents voiced concerns.
Lizette Prestwich, a Fifth Ward resident, questioned the decision to remove the fencing given the continued presence of dioxin in some soil samples.
Luckett-Snyder responded that the EPA’s safety thresholds are based on extreme, hypothetical exposure: “We evaluate that residential screening area based on the assumption a very young child basically sits in that same spot, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 50 weeks a year and eats the dirt,” she said. “If they do that, that concentration… would cause health effects. Is there some very small pocket of dioxin [contamination]? Yes. Is it posing health risks? No.”
Ellis added a more personal analogy: “I barbecued in my yard for 30 years. I dumped coals on the ground. Maybe some would not let their kids in the yard. Maybe some would not let their kids [stay] at Hester House.”
But concerns extended beyond Hester House. Erica Hubbard, who operates the Hershe Community Garden nearby, highlighted a broader environmental issue. She said independent lab testing conducted on her garden’s soil—18 inches deep—revealed the presence of creosote compounds, likely linked to the former Houston Wood Preserving Works site nearby.
“If the soil is contaminated beyond the scope of your soil study,” Hubbard asked, “the people who are growing food or whatever it is—they are exposed to that. There are no disclosures. People are constantly buying homes.”
Luckett-Snyder acknowledged the issue but said the town hall’s scope was limited to the Hester House investigation. She noted that a separate EPA investigation is ongoing elsewhere in the Fifth Ward.
Sondra Edwards, another resident, challenged the sampling methodology itself, criticizing the one-foot depth limitation: “If we can’t plant in the ground, what good is that ground to us?” she asked. “I want my fruit trees… I want them to be productive.”
