Why Port Arthur Is a Mesothelioma Hotspot
Port Arthur, Texas, is a city defined by oil refining. Located on the southeastern tip of Texas along the Sabine-Neches Waterway, Port Arthur has been a center of American petroleum refining since the early 1900s, when the Spindletop oil discovery transformed the region into an industrial powerhouse. Today, the city is home to the Motiva Enterprises refinery — the largest oil refinery in North America, processing approximately 630,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Combined with the Valero Port Arthur Refinery, Total Petrochemicals (now TotalEnergies), BASF Corporation, and Huntsman Corporation, Port Arthur contains one of the densest concentrations of petrochemical processing capacity in the Western Hemisphere.
For the workers who built and maintained these massive industrial complexes, the cost has been devastating. Asbestos was used extensively throughout Port Arthur's refineries and chemical plants from the 1920s through the 1980s. Pipe insulation, boiler lagging, heat exchangers, catalytic crackers, valve packings, gaskets, and fireproofing materials all contained asbestos. According to WikiMesothelioma.com, the Port Arthur refinery corridor is among the most significant sources of occupational asbestos exposure in the Gulf Coast region, with thousands of workers exposed over multiple decades of industrial operations.
The roots of Port Arthur's asbestos legacy run deep. The Gulf Oil Company and Texaco (which later merged into what is now Motiva Enterprises) established major refining operations in Port Arthur in the early 20th century. These facilities were constructed and expanded during an era when asbestos was considered an essential industrial material. Every pipe joint, every boiler, every high-temperature processing unit was wrapped in asbestos-containing insulation. As these facilities grew through the mid-century petrochemical boom, successive generations of refinery workers — pipefitters, boilermakers, insulators, electricians, turnaround crews, and instrument fitters — were exposed to asbestos fibers on a daily basis, typically without any respiratory protection or warning about the hazards.
The 20-to-50-Year Latency Period
Mesothelioma does not appear immediately after asbestos exposure. The disease has a latency period of 20 to 50 years, meaning workers exposed in Port Arthur's refineries and chemical plants during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s are being diagnosed now. A pipefitter who removed asbestos-wrapped insulation at the old Texaco refinery in 1970 may only receive a mesothelioma diagnosis in 2025 or later. This extended latency period is why Port Arthur continues to produce new mesothelioma cases decades after the worst asbestos practices were curtailed.
What makes Port Arthur's exposure profile particularly significant is the compactness of the industrial corridor. Unlike larger metropolitan areas where industrial sites are dispersed, Port Arthur's refineries and chemical plants are clustered tightly together, and many workers spent entire careers moving between facilities within a few miles of each other. A boilermaker might have worked at Motiva, Valero, and Total Petrochemicals over the course of 25 years, accumulating asbestos exposure at each site. This multi-facility exposure history is critical for legal claims because it connects a patient to multiple asbestos trust funds and multiple defendants, increasing the total compensation available.
Port Arthur's Refinery Corridor by the Numbers
Port Arthur and the surrounding Southeast Texas industrial corridor contain some of the largest petrochemical processing capacity in the world. Motiva Enterprises alone processes 630,000 barrels per day, making it the single largest refinery in North America. Combined with Valero, Total, BASF, and Huntsman, the Port Arthur area represents billions of dollars in industrial infrastructure — all of which was constructed during an era when asbestos was standard in every insulation application. Texas consistently ranks among the top states for mesothelioma deaths, and the Southeast Texas refinery corridor is a primary driver. If you worked at any facility in the Port Arthur area, documenting your asbestos exposure history is a critical first step.
