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Aztec Ceramics

This former ceramic tile manufacturing site in San Antonio, Bexar County, is in the operation and maintenance phase of the State Superfund Program. The TCEQ has deleted this site from the state Superfund Registry.

Site Summary

The Aztec Ceramics Corporation site is on 8.83 acres at 4735 Emil Road in San Antonio. The site is on the northeast side of the intersection of Emil Road and the right-of-way of the Union Pacific Railroad. Aztec manufactured ceramic tile products at the facility for approximately 45 years.

When they ceased operations in 1988, they left behind soil contaminated with arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, and zinc. Deteriorating drums of waste glaze were left in the main building and waste oil spills were present 0n the floor of the main building.

Superfund Registry and Investigation

The TCEQ proposed the site to the state Superfund registry in April 1995 and conducted the remedial investigation between July 1995 and June 1999. During that time, the drums of waste glaze were removed and the site’s buildings were demolished.

Remedial Action

On June 6, 2000, TCEQ issued an administrative order (AO) which selected the remedial action for the site and ordered named responsible parties to perform it. The selected remedial action specified a commercial/industrial land use and entailed placing an impervious asphalt cover over the site to prevent exposure to contaminated soils and migration of contaminants from soils to groundwater.

The responsible parties were unwilling or unable to begin the selected remedial action within the timeframe specified; therefore, the TCEQ completed the remedial action in August 2002. The site was deleted from the state Superfund registry in November 2003.

Current Status

Cleanup is complete. The site is in the operation and maintenance phase which requires annual groundwater monitoring and maintenance inspections of the integrity of the asphalt cap and the surrounding fence. The TCEQ is conducting the monitoring and inspections.

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