This story is part of a collaboration with Univision 45 in Houston.
HIGHLANDS, Texas — Eight months ago, Texas health officials delivered alarming news to residents of a string of industrialized communities east of Houston: A new study had found that they may be at elevated risk of developing several types of cancer, especially leukemia.
But few conclusions about the severity of the threat in specific locations can be drawn because state epidemiologists have refused to release the cancer data at the census-tract level — a move advocates and experts are calling into question. This granular data can pinpoint areas with high cancer burdens and help connect those discrepancies to risk factors like environmental exposures. It can also be used to identify cancer clusters…