Fifth Ward and Cashmere Gardens soil testing deadline: Houston residents must consent to contamination testing by November 30th.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — It’s an important time for people living in a notorious cancer hotspot in Houston.

A deadline of this Saturday, November 30, is set for property owners in Houston’s Fifth Ward and Cashmere Gardens to test their soil for contamination.

The area was known as a cancer hotspot due to the old train station and was much talked about. For years, ABC13 has reported on the issue affecting people who have long said something in the soil is making them sick.

SEE MORE: EPA testing finds higher than normal levels of chemicals in soil and water in Fifth Ward.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has already found higher levels of carcinogenic chemicals at a railroad yard that used to burn wood with creosote.

Activists and politicians are working with the Union Pacific Railroad to try to get everyone in the area to test their waters and sign access agreements to do so.

The agreement will allow Union Pacific to collect soil from private properties free of charge and test it for contamination.

SEE ALSO: City of Houston greenlights hundreds of development projects in cancer cluster area, report says

Environmental Protection Agency leaders hope that everyone who signs a soil test agreement will receive results by the middle of next year.

Families will have until Saturday to sign an access agreement.

If you are unsure whether you are in a testing area or what the process will be, contact Union Pacific at 1-800-823-6070 or [email protected].

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