WEBBER POISONS KIDS.
A concrete batch plant sits just feet from a preschool playground in Houston—and the company behind it, Webber, LLC, doesn’t seem to care.
In December 2024, construction giant Webber, LLC began operating a concrete batch plant immediately next to the Awty Early Learning Campus, where over 500 children between the ages of three and seven spend their days learning, playing, and breathing the air around them.
The plant’s industrial equipment sits just 300 feet from classrooms. A fence is all that separates heavy concrete production from preschoolers on tricycles. Webber is knowingly putting kids in harm’s way. And they’re doing it on land owned by the State of Texas.
This isn’t a mistake. It’s a reckless business decision, protected by a system of cronyism and silence. And it’s time we called it what it is:
child endangerment.
TAKE ACTION:
DEMAND WEBBER RELOCATE THE CONCRETE BATCH PLANT NOW!
1. CONTACT WEBBER, LLC:
Flood their phone lines. Make it clear we won’t go away!
2. PRESSURE TXDOT:
Flood their phone lines. Make it clear we won’t go away!
3. CONTACT THE PRESS
Click 2 Houston
ABC13 TIP LINE
KHOU 11 TIP LINE
3. SPREAD THE WORD:
Share this site on social media and with your family and friends and get the word out!
THE FACTS:
THEY KNEW IT WAS DANGEROUS AND DID IT ANYWAY.
1. The Plant Is Too Close to Kids
- Webber’s batch plant is operating within 300 feet of Awty Early Learning Campus.
- The school serves over 500 children between ages 3 and 7.
- Outdoor play areas and classrooms sit within 600 feet of dust-producing equipment.
- The plant shares a fence line with the school.
IMAGES SENT BY PARENTS SHOW THE PLANT PRODUCING MASSIVE DUST CLOUDS THAT ACCUMULATE ON AWTY CAMPUS.
2. The Air Is Not Safe
- On September 17, 2025, during school hours, Webber reported an “unplanned upset event” due to a mechanical failure in its dust collection system.
- This occurred at 2:08pm, while children were outside during afternoon play.
- Webber’s malfunction released uncontrolled particulate emissions, including PM10 AND PM2.5, which can lodge deep in the lungs and cause long-term respiratory damage and cancer—especially in young children.
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Dr. Name Namerson
Title Information HERE
“Firsthand in my clinic, I see patients that got exposed very early to this kind of pollution, and they have lifelong problems, respiratory problems.”
Luis Chug
A parent of two Awty students and a practicing pulmonologist
OUT OF 103 DAYS OF PM10 DATA, THEIR MAX EMISSIONS EXCEEDED THE EPA'S HIGHEST TRANCHE TWENTY NINE PERCENT OF THE TIME…. THEY ONLY HAD ONE “GOOD” DAY.
AWTY PLAYGROUND SENSOR PICKED UP EXTREMELY HIGH LEVELS OF PM2.5 PARTICLES OVER THE LAST 3 MONTHS. THIS IS EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS, ESPECIALLY TO YOUNG CHILDREN.
Source: As of Feb 7, 2024, the EPA is setting the level of the primary (health-based) annual PM2.5 standard at 9.0 micrograms per cubic meter to provide increased public health protection, consistent with the available health science.
3. Webber Has a Pattern of Violations
This is a pattern of irresponsible operation—and they’ve been cited repeatedly.
- 2 dust citations from the City of Houston, where investigators witnessed visible plumes of dust escaping the plant.
- 2 violations from Harris County.
- 3 Notices of Violation issued by TCEQ, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
- Multiple warning letters ignored or insufficiently addressed.
HOUSTON HEALTH CITATIONS
BACKROOM FAVORITISM?
- Despite issuing 3 violations themselves, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ultimately denied to hear the motion to overturn Webber's permits.
- TCEQ refuses to listen to parents' pleas to relocate the plant farther away.
- If TCEQ knows Webber has actively violated their permits, why won't they overturn their permits entirely? Or at least listen to concerned parents?
“There seems to be a troubling record of disregarding community concerns about facilities that emit particulate matter, silica dust, and diesel exhaust — pollutants known to harm developing lungs, trigger asthma, and cause lasting health issues. Our children deserve safe places to learn and play.”
Lesley Briones
Harris County Commissioner
TCEQ VIOLATIONS
3. Webber Has a Pattern of Violations
This is a pattern of irresponsible operation—and they’ve been cited repeatedly.
- 2 dust citations from the City of Houston, where investigators witnessed visible plumes of dust escaping the plant.
- 2 violations from Harris County.
- 3 Notices of Violation issued by TCEQ, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
- Multiple warning letters ignored or insufficiently addressed.
HOUSTON HEALTH CITATIONS
HARRIS COUNTY VIOLATIONS
TCEQ VIOLATIONS
“There seems to be a troubling record of disregarding community concerns about facilities that emit particulate matter, silica dust, and diesel exhaust — pollutants known to harm developing lungs, trigger asthma, and cause lasting health issues. Our children deserve safe places to learn and play.”
Lesley Briones
Harris County Commissioner
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE:
TheSE ARE THE People Behind the Plant. We need to hold them accountable. NOW.
Jose Carlos Esteban
President & CEO, Webber LLC
- The top executive at Webber.
- Oversaw the approval and continued operation of the plant.
- Has taken no action to protect the students next door.
Why hasn’t Jose CarloS Esteban shut the plant down, even after multiple violations and a pollution event during school hours?
Lance Simmons
Senior VP of Client Relations, Webber
Former TxDOT Chief Engineer
- Once a high-ranking official at TxDOT, now working for a company that profits from TxDOT contracts.
- Webber’s plant sits on TxDOT-owned land.
- Did Simmons use his TxDOT relationships to grease the wheels?
Children are breathing toxic air right now...And it could affect them for the rest of their lives.
This is A health hazard. These are real children…with names, futures, and parents who trusted they’d be safe.
- Awty International School opened the Early Learning Campus in 2017.
- It serves 500+ students aged 3–7—some with asthma, allergies, and developing immune systems.
- Families of young schoolchildren were excluded from any meaningful role in determining the location of the plant.
- The last public notice giving parents a chance to voice concerns was issued nearly seven years ago, in March 2019.
- Parents deserve a seat at the table when their children's health is at risk.
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Dr. Name Namerson
Title Information HERE
“Children are at greater risk from air pollution because their lungs are still developing, they breathe more air per pound of body weight, and they spend more time outdoors.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
“Children attending schools near industrial sources of air pollution are at increased risk of both acute and chronic respiratory effects.”
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
TAKE ACTION:
DEMAND WEBBER RELOCATE THE CONCRETE BATCH PLANT NOW!
1. CONTACT WEBBER, LLC:
Flood their phone lines. Make it clear we won’t go away!
2. PRESSURE TXDOT:
Flood their phone lines. Make it clear we won’t go away!