West Dallas is one of the largest public
housing projects in the city, directly
across the street is the RCR corporation
led smelter.
The land around the project and a nearby
boys club has been found to contain as
much as 90 times more lead than is
considered safe.
Shahrizat has already agreed to remove
the contaminated soil around the boys
club. But attorney James Barbour says
the damage has already been done.
Barbour has filed a federal lawsuit on
behalf of nine residents of the project,
charging they have suffered bodily damage
because of the lead in the soil.
And I have no idea how many people are
affected by this.
I do know that there are a lot of people
out there, my clients included,
who are seriously concerned
about the problem and many of whom
have no place to go.
Many of these people are very poor.
They live in West Dallas.
Projects really can't afford to move.
And so, you know, the problem is a
chronic and serious one that's going to
have to be dealt with despite the high
levels of lead in the soil.
No one has yet to prove conclusively
any child living near the smelter's has
suffered brain damage.
For the moment, Attorney Barbour is
shielding his clients from the media.
But if his class action status is
approved, just about everybody who lives
in the West Dallas project will be a
client. And that could be as many as
several thousand people by letter.
Channel 5 Action News.