Documented Exposure Sites
| # | Facility | Industry | Active Period | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texaco Port Arthur Refinery | Petroleum Refining | 1902–present | Critical |
| 2 | Gulf Oil Port Arthur Refinery | Petroleum Refining | 1901–1985 | Critical |
| 3 | Mobil Oil Port Arthur | Petroleum Refining | 1936–present | Critical |
| 4 | DuPont Port Arthur Works | Petrochemical Production | 1948–present | Critical |
| 5 | Huntsman Corporation (formerly Texaco Chemical) | Petrochemical Production | 1952–present | High |
| 6 | Gulf States Utilities (Lewis Creek Plant) | Power Generation | 1943–1990 | High |
| 7 | Betz Dearborn Port Arthur | Industrial Water Treatment | 1950–1985 | Moderate |
| 8 | Star Enterprise (Texaco / Saudi Aramco JV) | Petroleum Refining | 1989–2000 | High |
| 9 | Port Arthur Shipyard | Marine Vessel Repair | 1920–1975 | High |
Texaco and Gulf Oil: Port Arthur’s Founding Industries
Port Arthur was essentially founded by the petroleum industry. Texaco’s refinery, established in 1902 following the Spindletop gusher, grew into one of the largest in the world — processing crude from across the Gulf Coast and international sources. Gulf Oil built a competing massive facility that operated for most of the 20th century. Both facilities used asbestos insulation throughout their process units from their founding through the early 1970s, when federal regulations began restricting asbestos use.
The most heavily exposed workers were those who performed insulation work during plant construction and turnarounds: the insulators and pipe coverers who mixed, cut, and applied asbestos products directly. But maintenance workers in virtually all crafts — pipefitters, boilermakers, electricians, instrument technicians, painters, and general laborers — were exposed to asbestos dust released when insulation was disturbed during routine maintenance operations.
See Also: Beaumont Area Sites
Port Arthur is part of the larger Beaumont / Golden Triangle industrial corridor. Workers who moved between Port Arthur and Beaumont-area refineries — as was common in the contract trades — will find additional facility listings on the Beaumont page.
Yes. Former workers at Texaco, Gulf Oil, Mobil, DuPont, and other Port Arthur refineries can file asbestos product liability claims against the manufacturers of insulation and other asbestos-containing products used at those facilities. Texas’s 2-year statute of limitations runs from the date of mesothelioma diagnosis (discovery rule). Jefferson County District Court handles local civil cases. Workers who performed turnaround maintenance across multiple Golden Triangle refineries often have claims against multiple manufacturers and may qualify for multiple asbestos trust fund payouts simultaneously.
Yes. The Port Arthur–Beaumont–Orange Golden Triangle corridor is consistently ranked among the highest asbestos exposure regions in the United States due to the density and scale of petroleum refining, chemical manufacturing, and power generation facilities operating simultaneously during the peak asbestos era (1940s–1970s). Jefferson County has historically had mesothelioma diagnosis rates significantly above the national average, reflecting decades of heavy industrial asbestos use. The region’s contract trades culture, in which workers moved between multiple refineries in the same career, also increased cumulative exposure compared to workers who stayed at a single facility.