Chasewood still investigating well water contamination.
Close to eight years have passed since elevated levels of radioactive particles were found in the drinking water of the Chasewood subdivision in eastern Fort Bend County.
In their quest to confirm whether the water contamination is linked to cancer cases in Chasewood, residents are participating in an independent survey to track cancer occurrences.
A second opinion In March of 2016, at the request of concerned residents, the Texas Department of State Health Services released a study to identify possible cancer clusters in the Chasewood area.
The civic club felt the DSHS survey—the scope of which was crafted by the state at the request of the Houston Health Department—should have looked for more cancer types.
We don’t look at the cause of the cancer.
Smith said about 25-30 percent of households responded to the survey and if enough cases of a particular cancer are reported, that could meet the DSHS threshold for a new cluster study.
Water from Greenridge MUD wells serving the neighborhood tested above the legal limit for radioactive gross alpha particles in 2009.
“If the water was contaminated, most likely the things the water was being housed in—the pumps, the tanks—was contaminated as well,” he said.
Houston owned the water wells but the gas wells were operated by OG Co. Inc, according to a letter from the RRC.