Hazardous Waste Site | Houston, Texas | 1960s - Present

What Happened? 

Hazardous substances from the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund site, principally dioxins and furans, were released from waste disposal impoundments (“pits”)  into the San Jacinto River. The river reaches a confluence with the Houston Ship Channel approximately two miles downstream of the site, where it flows into the largest estuary in Texas: Galveston Bay.

In the 1960s, pulp and paper mill waste generated by a Pasadena, Texas paper mill was transported by barge for disposal at a set of large waste disposal impoundments adjacent to the San Jacinto River. While these pits were abandoned in the late 1960s, riverbed changes led to the partial submergence of the roughly 20-acre northern impoundments (north of I-10), releasing hazardous substances into surrounding riverine, coastal, and upland areas. The EPA designated the waste pits a Superfund site in 2008.

What Were the Impacts?

• Natural resources potentially injured by releases from the site include, but are not limited to, surface water, sediment, soil, vegetation, biota (e.g. fish, aquatic invertebrates, and terrestrial wildlife), and their supporting habitats
• Fish and blue crab near the San Jacinto River Waste Pits site contain elevated levels of dioxins, furans, and polychlorinated biphenyls. Fish Consumption Advisories restricting consumption of all species of fish and blue crab are in effect
• Human use services such as recreational fishing, swimming, and other shoreline recreational activities may have also potentially been adversely affected

What’s Happening Now?

NOAA and natural resource co-trustees are in the assessment phase of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment process.

NOAA and the natural resource co-trustees continue to review information from the EPA’s remedial process about levels of contaminants at the site and potential pathways of exposure to natural resources, as well as progress on site remediation.