HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — As vehicles drive by the Sesco Cement facility on East Sam Houston Parkway North, fine dust kicks up from the road.
The Harris County Attorney’s Office said that dust is from cement that has drifted off-site, causing a health and safety concern.
“It’s handling the cement in a way that leaves cement waste and cement powder all over the facility,” said Sarah Utley, the managing attorney for the County’s environmental group.
Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan filed a lawsuit Monday, accusing the company of violating the Texas Clean Air Act, Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act and the Texas Water Code.
From the outside, piles of debris on Sesco’s grounds are visible. Utley said the piles aren’t supposed to be there.
“It has really poor housekeeping,” Utley said. “Once something is on the ground and you have a rain event, where does it go? It goes into the storm drains or goes off-site.”
“Recent sample results of water in the roadside ditches have resulted in high pH levels.”
According to OSHA.gov, cement dust can irritate your eyes, nose, throat and upper respiratory system. It can cause damage and chemical burns to skin. Silica, which is often in cement, can cause lung cancer.
“Anytime you’re breathing cement dust, it’s not a good thing,” Utley said.
Utley said Harris County Pollution Control has received various complaints about the facility.
The Attorney’s Office said that several inspections were conducted over the past 12 months, in which cement powder was found to have hardened inside storm drains at the facility. Piles of cement dust and other debris, one measuring 350 feet long, 45 feet wide and 8 feet tall, were found on the facility, according to the County.
According to the lawsuit, the plant was operating two silos and three hoppers without having included them on documentation filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
“Dust flowing from cement plants negatively impacts surrounding neighborhoods and in this case created a traffic hazard,” Ryan said. “Our office will hold them accountable for failing to follow the law.”
The County said the goal of the lawsuit isn’t to shut down the facility but to get it to clean up.
KHOU reached out to Sesco Cement by phone and email. So far, our messages haven’t been returned.