T.E.J.A.S.

Houston, Texas, USA
Juan Parras et al.

Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (t.e.j.a.s) is a non-profit organization that seeks to provide community members with the tools to create sustainable, environmentally healthy communities by educating people on health concerns and implications of environmental pollution, providing community building skills and resources for effective community action, and empowering individuals to understand applicable environmental laws and regulations. The organization is based in the Houston Ship Channel, home to the largest petrochemical refinery in the western hemisphere. Children living within a 2 mile radius of the ship channel have a 56% greater likelihood of developing leukemia than children living beyond a 10 mile radius of the industrial zone. Houston has the most contaminated air quality in the United States for mercury, formaldehyde, benzene and other highly toxical chemicals used and released in industrial processes. T.e.j.a.s. was founded by Juan Parras, who has worked in the city of Houston with the local government as well as non-profit organizations for more than forty years. T.e.j.a.s follows environmental justice principles developed by the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in 1991 as the defining document for grassroots work. In addition to advocacy work, t.e.j.a.s. has offered toxic tours of the Houston ship channel for over 20 years. The toxic tours bring individuals through the East End of Houston, a superfund site and home to multi-billion dollar oil and gas conglomerates as well as thousands of underserved residents. The tours expose the legacy of pollution and oppression that the communities living along the Houston Ship Channel live every day, where t.e.j.a.s also offers air monitoring and education events, along with a youth group.

2006 - ongoing
34 feet above sea level

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