Public EPA dataset TRI 2023 · CC0 public domain
What's in your water?
What's near your community?
EPA Toxic Release Inventory, Safe Drinking Water, Superfund National Priorities List and Air Quality data, normalized at facility, county and state level, with five-year trends and source-linked context.
The short answer
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's public record, 25,986 industrial facilities report chemical releases, 49,190 public drinking-water systems are tracked, and 1,839 Superfund sites exist across the United States. PlainEnviro's health-based drinking-water extract holds 328,076 violation records against those systems; monitoring and reporting violations are not included. Reported pounds measure disclosed volume, not toxicity or health risk.
Federal disclosure counts, not toxicity-weighted or population-adjusted risk scores. Source: EPA Toxics Release Inventory, SDWIS, and Superfund NPL, updated August 2026.
What the federal record actually shows
Which facilities pollute the most?
Largest toxic polluters, by total reported releases
Top facilities nationwide, all release media combined
- Red Dog Operations
- Kennecott Utah Copper Mine C… 781
- Nevada Gold Mines LLC - Gold… 504
- Hecla Greens Creek Mining Co 376
- Nevada Gold Mines LLC - Carl… 217
- Montana Resources LLC 215
- Nevada Gold Mines LLC - Turq… 181
- Nevada Gold Mines Llc-Cortez… 147
What this shows Volume is not the whole story. The largest figures come from a handful of mines reporting on-site disposal of waste rock, very different from the airborne chemical emissions that drive day-to-day exposure in populated areas.
| # | Facility | Total Releases |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Dog Operations | 3344.3M lbs |
| 2 | Kennecott Utah Copper Mine Concentrators & Power Plant | 781.4M lbs |
| 3 | Nevada Gold Mines LLC - Goldstrike Mines Inc | 504.4M lbs |
| 4 | Hecla Greens Creek Mining Co | 375.5M lbs |
| 5 | Nevada Gold Mines LLC - Carlin South Area | 216.7M lbs |
| 6 | Montana Resources LLC | 215.2M lbs |
| 7 | Nevada Gold Mines LLC - Turquoise Ridge | 180.8M lbs |
| 8 | Nevada Gold Mines Llc-Cortez District | 146.6M lbs |
| 9 | Kennecott Utah Copper Smelter & Refinery | 135.3M lbs |
| 10 | Dark Horse Treating Facility | 131.3M lbs |
Browse by State
Active Superfund Sites
| Site Name | State | Site Score |
|---|---|---|
| 10th Street Site | NE | 28.90 |
| 57th and North Broadway Streets Site | KS | 50.00 |
| 700 South 1600 East PCE Plume | UT | 50.00 |
| A. O. Polymer | NJ | 28.91 |
| A.I.W. Frank/Mid-County Mustang | PA | 42.40 |
| ABC One Hour Cleaners | NC | 29.11 |
| Aberdeen Contaminated Ground Water | NC | 50.00 |
| Aberdeen Pesticide Dumps | NC | 52.70 |
| Aberdeen Proving Ground (Edgewood Area) | MD | 53.57 |
| Aberdeen Proving Ground (Michaelsville Landfill) | MD | 31.09 |
Top Chemicals by Release Volume
Each area is proportional to total TRI releases reported for the chemical. This shows concentration in the reported volume, not comparative toxicity or exposure risk. Source: EPA Toxics Release Inventory, 2023.
Most-released chemicals nationwide
Total reported TRI releases, all facilities combined
- Zinc compounds
- Nitrate compounds (water…
- Lead And Lead Compounds
- Lead compounds
- Arsenic compounds 1,167
- Ammonia 874
- Methanol 653
- Manganese And Manganese… 637
What this shows The biggest tonnages are industrial mining and metal compounds; carcinogen and PBT flags in the table below matter as much as the raw pounds.
| Chemical | Total Releases |
|---|---|
| Zinc compounds | 2979.8M lbs |
| Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) | 1394.3M lbs |
| Lead And Lead Compounds | 1387.9M lbs |
| Lead compounds | 1327.3M lbs |
| Arsenic compounds | 1167.2M lbs |
| Ammonia | 873.8M lbs |
| Methanol | 652.7M lbs |
| Manganese And Manganese Compounds | 637.0M lbs |
| Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)) | 585.8M lbs |
| Manganese compounds | 435.5M lbs |
| Hydrogen sulfide | 425.0M lbs |
| Copper And Copper Compounds | 417.5M lbs |
| Barium And Barium Compounds | 318.3M lbs |
| Copper compounds | 295.8M lbs |
| Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size) | 243.3M lbs |
| n-Hexane | 210.2M lbs |
| Styrene | 163.3M lbs |
| Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) | 147.4M lbs |
| Vanadium compounds | 142.5M lbs |
| Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size) | 126.5M lbs |
About PlainEnviro
PlainEnviro presents EPA environmental data without advocacy framing. We don't sell water filters or promote any products. All data comes from official EPA sources including the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), and the National Priorities List (NPL).
Browse TRI facility data to see what chemicals are released in your area, check water quality reports for community water systems, explore drinking water contaminants including PFAS and lead, view county air quality rankings, or look up Superfund sites near you. Every data point links back to its EPA source, so you can verify anything you see here.
Whether you're a homebuyer researching a neighborhood, a journalist investigating environmental issues, or a resident who wants to understand local conditions, PlainEnviro gives you the raw data to form your own conclusions.
Environmental Data Guides
Learn how to read and use EPA environmental data.
Understanding the TRI
What toxic release data tells you about industrial pollution in your area.
Water Quality Violations
How to read your water system's violation record and what it means.
What Is a Superfund Site?
How contaminated sites get cleaned up and what it means for nearby residents.
Environmental Justice
How pollution exposure varies by community and what EPA data shows about who lives near polluters.
America's Biggest Polluters
Top TRI facilities ranked by total toxic releases, what they emit and why volume isn't the whole story.
What to do with this data
Three ways to take this from national totals to your own situation.
- Look up your own county's environmental burden score, ranked against the 500 highest-release counties in the screening dataset. County EJ screening
- Check whether your local public water system has a documented health-based violation. Water quality search
- See how Alaska or your state compares nationally across TRI releases, water violations, and Superfund density. National rankings
These are starting points, not a health assessment: a high count documents federal disclosure volume, not a measured exposure risk at any single address.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Toxics Release Inventory has required annual industrial disclosure since its creation under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act in October 1986, and PlainEnviro's database now compiles more than 25,000 industrial facilities' TRI records through the 2023 reporting year; see our methodology for full source citations and refresh cadence.
About this data
How PlainEnviro works, and why you can trust these numbers
What this site is
PlainEnviro is a plain-language reference for U.S. environmental data. We turn official EPA datasets, the Toxics Release Inventory, Safe Drinking Water Information System, Superfund National Priorities List, and Air Quality System, into a single searchable database covering more than 25,000 industrial facilities, over 49,000 public water systems, and every EPA Superfund site, with every figure traceable back to the issuing federal source.
Editorial process
- Source. Pull TRI facility-release records, SDWIS water-system and violation data, Superfund NPL site listings, and EPA AQS air-quality readings directly from EPA's own APIs and data services.
- Verify. Each record keeps its original EPA identifier (TRI facility ID, PWSID, NPL site ID), so every figure traces back to the source agency's own record.
- Publish. Compile per-facility, per-county, and per-state profiles that show the data in context, national rank, historical trend, and plain-language explanation, always linking back to the official EPA source so readers can verify our numbers against it.
Editorial independence & corrections
PlainEnviro is an independent publisher and is not affiliated with the EPA or any covered entity. We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement from any facility, company, or agency. Found a record that looks wrong? Use the contact page with the page URL and the value that looks off, we compare it against the published EPA source and correct our pipeline (not just the single page) if the error is on our side. See our editorial & corrections policy and methodology for the full process and source attribution.
Frequently asked
Where does PlainEnviro get its environmental data?
All data comes from official U.S. federal sources, primarily the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), and Superfund National Priorities List, plus EPA Air Quality System (AQS) data for air-quality coverage. This is the same data the EPA uses for environmental enforcement.
How many facilities does PlainEnviro track?
PlainEnviro tracks 25,900+ industrial facilities across the United States that report toxic chemical releases to the EPA, 49,100+ regulated water systems, and 1,800+ Superfund sites, with 5-year trend data from 2019 to 2023.
Is PlainEnviro free?
Yes, PlainEnviro is completely free. You can search facilities, view chemical release data, and track environmental trends without any account or payment.
What do the 5-year trend pages show?
Each facility's trend page shows year-over-year changes in total toxic releases from 2019 to 2023, broken down by chemical type and release method (air, water, land, off-site disposal).
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does PlainEnviro get its environmental data?
All data comes from official U.S. federal sources, primarily the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), and Superfund National Priorities List, plus EPA Air Quality System (AQS) data for air-quality coverage. This is the same data the EPA uses for environmental enforcement.
How many facilities does PlainEnviro track?
PlainEnviro tracks 25,900+ industrial facilities across the United States that report toxic chemical releases to the EPA, 49,100+ regulated water systems, and 1,800+ Superfund sites, with 5-year trend data from 2019 to 2023.
Is PlainEnviro free?
Yes, PlainEnviro is completely free. You can search facilities, view chemical release data, and track environmental trends without any account or payment.
What do the 5-year trend pages show?
Each facility's trend page shows year-over-year changes in total toxic releases from 2019 to 2023, broken down by chemical type and release method (air, water, land, off-site disposal).
Download the compiled national statistics extract cited on this page: CSV or JSON (EPA public records compiled here under CC BY 4.0). When reusing the table, name PlainEnviro as the compiler.