Wright Containers, a Houston based company that uses industrial plastic containers designed to hold 330 gallons of hazardous liquid, is facing felony charges and possible 10-year prison sentence stemming from accusations that the company has been intentionally dumping hazardous chemicals down a neighborhood storm drain.
Authorities only learned of the dumping after employees who had been injured by exposure to the toxic chemicals brought it to their attention. Prosecutors claim the managers at Wright Containers told employees to dump residual toxic chemicals down a storm drain. The employees also claim the company stacked plastic containers around the storm drain in an effort to block the dumping from public view. The dumping site is within a mile of two elementary schools and one junior high school. Among the chemicals that were dumped are benzene—which causes cancer in humans—along with dichloromethane, ethylbenzene, and toluene, which are all either respiratory irritants, hormone disruptors, or probable carcinogens.
A Houston company dumped cancer-causing chemicals into a neighborhood storm drain
