Tex-Tin Corp.

Overview

The Tex-Tin Corp. site covers 170 acres along Galveston Bay in Texas City, Texas. It operated as a tin and copper smelter from 1941 to 1989. The facility generated waste piles, wastewater treatment ponds, acid ponds, and slag piles that contaminated soil, groundwater, and nearby sediment. About 25,000 people live within three miles of the site. EPA added it to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1990, triggering a formal investigation and cleanup process.

Contaminants are present across several areas and materials. Groundwater at the Tex-Tin Facility contains metals such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, copper, mercury, and chromium, along with organic chemicals like benzene and 1,2-dichloroethane, and radioactive materials including thorium and uranium isotopes. Site soils and solid waste hold arsenic, copper, lead, and radium isotopes. Sediment at the adjacent Swan Lake Salt Marsh contains aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, tin, zinc, and other metals.

EPA divided the site into four operable units. The main smelter area received treatment, stabilization, containment, and a slurry wall to control groundwater movement. The BP Amoco parcel and an off-site residential area in La Marque both required no further remedial action after earlier response work. Swan Lake Salt Marsh received wave barriers to protect the ecosystem and prevent release of contaminated sediment. Remedy construction across all four units was complete by September 2004. EPA signed a Preliminary Closeout Report that same month. A development company has since purchased the former smelter property to use as a container facility for a planned Texas City megaport.

Current performance measures show human exposure is under control and groundwater migration is stable with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. Institutional controls restrict soil exposure and groundwater use. An evapotranspiration system helps minimize contaminated groundwater movement. The site has not yet been fully deleted from the NPL and has not achieved sitewide ready for anticipated use status. The most recent five-year review, completed in August 2025, confirmed the remedy is protective of human health and the environment in the short term. Outstanding actions include updating groundwater monitoring plans, investigating possible additional contaminant sources, clarifying radiological testing methods, and evaluating wave barrier conditions at Swan Lake.

Community members who want to learn more can contact the EPA Community Involvement Coordinator. The full 2025 Five-Year Review Report is available online and in print at Moore Memorial Public Library in Texas City, reachable at (409) 643-5975. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) also has staff available.