Baytown Asbestos Exposure Map
● Critical ● High ● Moderate
Major Asbestos Exposure Sites
| Facility | Industry | Risk Level | Active Period | Est. Workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ExxonMobil Baytown Refinery & Chemical Complex | Petroleum refining / petrochemicals | Critical | 1919–present (asbestos use 1919–1989) | ~6,000 peak |
| Goodyear Tire & Rubber – Baytown | Rubber / chemical manufacturing | Critical | 1944–present (asbestos use 1944–1980s) | ~3,000 peak |
| Union Carbide Cedar Bayou Plant | Petrochemical / ethylene | Critical | 1966–present (asbestos use 1966–1985) | ~2,500 peak |
| Humble Oil Baytown (ExxonMobil predecessor) | Petroleum refining | High | 1919–1972 (merged into Exxon) | ~2,000 peak |
| Armco Steel – Baytown | Steel manufacturing | High | 1970s–1990s | ~1,500 peak |
| Boise Cascade – Baytown | Paper / industrial | Moderate | 1960s–1990s | ~800 peak |
ExxonMobil Baytown: America’s Largest Refinery
The Baytown refinery complex encompasses over 3,400 acres and at peak employed more than 6,000 workers directly, with thousands more contract workers cycling through during turnarounds. Originally built by Humble Oil in 1919 as the first large-scale petroleum refinery in Texas, the facility was critical to Allied fuel production during World War II and expanded continuously through the postwar era.
Asbestos insulation was used throughout the refinery on pipe systems, vessels, heat exchangers, boilers, and turbines from the facility’s founding through the late 1980s. Insulation contractors including Brown & Root and Rust Engineering moved the same workforce through Baytown and the broader Houston Ship Channel corridor, accumulating compound exposure across multiple facilities. Litigation documents produced in mesothelioma cases have shown that asbestos product manufacturers marketed insulation products specifically to refinery operators while suppressing internal medical research on asbestos disease rates in refinery workers.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber – Baytown
The Goodyear Baytown facility, one of the company’s major synthetic rubber and chemical plants, used asbestos in pipe insulation, boiler coverings, gaskets, and friction materials throughout manufacturing equipment. Workers in maintenance trades — pipefitters, millwrights, and electricians — had sustained exposure during routine maintenance as well as plant expansions. The Goodyear plant was one of several large rubber and chemical facilities along the Ship Channel corridor that drew on the same pool of skilled craft workers.
Union Carbide Cedar Bayou
Built in 1966 as one of the largest ethylene cracker complexes in North America, Union Carbide’s Cedar Bayou plant (later Dow Chemical following Union Carbide’s acquisition) used extensive asbestos insulation on process equipment, cracking furnaces, and high-temperature pipe systems. The plant became the subject of mesothelioma litigation involving maintenance contractors who worked turnarounds at Cedar Bayou across the 1970s and early 1980s. Notably, Union Carbide was also the parent company of the Bhopal disaster in India; litigation discovery in various Union Carbide cases has produced internal documents showing the company’s awareness of asbestos hazards at its US chemical facilities.
At-Risk Occupations in Baytown
- Pipefitters and steamfitters — highest exposure during installation and removal of pipe insulation systems
- Insulators (pipe coverers) — direct handling of asbestos insulation materials
- Boilermakers — boiler repair and maintenance involving asbestos blankets and rope packing
- Electricians — electrical switchgear and panel insulation
- Millwrights — equipment overhaul in asbestos-laden environments
- Laborers and scaffold workers — bystander exposure during insulation work by other trades
- Refinery operators — daily exposure to deteriorating pipe and vessel insulation
Yes. Mesothelioma claims are filed against the manufacturers of asbestos products you were exposed to, not necessarily your employer or the refinery operator. If you worked at the Baytown refinery or Cedar Bayou plant in any trade capacity, your attorney will identify the specific insulation, gasket, and packing products present at that facility during the years you worked there. Contract workers often have the strongest claims because their exposure across multiple facilities means more manufacturers can be named as defendants.