Aiken, SC
A PlainEnviro-computed score from reported facility/violation counts, not an official EPA rating, health forecast, or population-adjusted rate. See methodology. This is a different measure than the EJ Screening score for this county, which ranks it by percentile against every other tracked county rather than against fixed national thresholds.
Environmental data for Aiken in South Carolina · Population: 171,949
Aiken, SC is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 22 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, 22 Safe Drinking Water Act systems, and 0 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Together these generate an environmental burden score of 57/100 (Moderate Risk), calibrated against national distributions for facility density, chemical release volume, Superfund concentration, and water-system health violations.
Industrial disclosures inside the county total 3.9M lbs of reported toxic releases under EPCRA Section 313, while 10 water systems carry an active health-based violation in the SDWIS record. EPA Air Quality System monitors logged a median AQI of 39 and a peak AQI of 84 in 2024, with 89% of observed days rated "Good" (0–50).
All figures below draw directly from federal EPA records, TRI self-reported emissions, SDWIS compliance history, NPL Hazard Ranking System scores, and AQS daily AQI summaries, and are not adjusted, weighted, or forecast. A past violation or elevated score does not itself indicate current unsafe conditions; it documents the regulatory and disclosure history publicly filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the most recent reporting cycle.
Air Quality History (2020–2024)
EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) data showing how many days per year fall into each air quality category.
| Year | Good | Moderate | Unhealthy (SG) | Max AQI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 238 (89%) | 29 | 0 | 84 |
| 2023 | 252 (92%) | 23 | 0 | 80 |
| 2022 | 246 (91%) | 25 | 0 | 87 |
| 2021 | 259 (92%) | 23 | 0 | 84 |
| 2020 | 258 (100%) | 1 | 0 | 71 |
Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County AQI categories: Good (0-50), Moderate (51-100), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150), Unhealthy (151-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300), Hazardous (301+)
For real-time air quality readings and pollutant breakdowns in South Carolina, see the EPA's AirNow.gov.
Water Systems (22)
| System | Population | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| NORTH AUGUSTA CITY OF (SC0210003) | 33,185 | 0 |
| BREEZY HILL W/D (SC0220006) | 17,822 | 0 |
| BEECH ISLAND W/D (SC0220004) | 8,935 | 0 |
| VALLEY PSA (SC0220012) | 7,752 | 4 |
| NEW ELLENTON CPW (SC0210007) | 7,277 | 0 |
| SALUDA CO W&S AUTHORITY (4120001) | 4,535 | 24 |
| TROLLEY RUN STATION DEVELOPMENT(0220016) | 4,361 | 0 |
| JACKSON TOWN OF (0210002) | 3,660 | 0 |
| RIDGE SPRING TOWN OF (SC4110002) | 1,575 | 6 |
| COLLEGE ACRES PUBLIC W/D (SC0220002) | 1,360 | 0 |
| TALATHA W/D (SC0220005) | 1,237 | 1 |
| WAGENER TOWN OF (SC0210004) | 1,210 | 0 |
| MONETTA TOWN OF (SC0210008) | 1,152 | 0 |
| BURNETTOWN W/D (SC0220007) | 1,090 | 4 |
| PERRY TOWN OF (SC0210006) | 796 | 0 |
| BATH W&SD (SC0220003) | 757 | 2 |
| LANGLEY W/D (SC0220001) | 753 | 1 |
| SALLEY TOWN OF (SC0210005) | 456 | 0 |
| NEW HOLLAND W/D (SC0220010) | 301 | 1 |
| OAKHILL S/D (SC0250004) | 243 | 1 |
| CAMERON MHP (SC0260038) | 83 | 1 |
| LONG CANE MHP (SC1960002) | 48 | 0 |
TRI Facilities (22)
| # | Facility | Total Releases |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ambiopharm Inc. | 1.4M lbs |
| 2 | U.S. Doe Savannah River Ops | 770.2K lbs |
| 3 | Graniteville Specialty Fabrics | 461.6K lbs |
| 4 | Agy Aiken LLC | 430.8K lbs |
| 5 | Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC Aiken County Off | 218.4K lbs |
| 6 | Owens Corning | 183.0K lbs |
| 7 | Allnex USA Inc North Augusta Facility | 123.0K lbs |
| 8 | Hubbell Power Systems Inc | 96.2K lbs |
| 9 | Bridgestone Aiken County Plant | 93.8K lbs |
| 10 | Allnex USA Inc | 45.5K lbs |
| 11 | Hpc Holdings Inc | 40.8K lbs |
| 12 | 72186 - the Carlstar Group LLC | 34.5K lbs |
| 13 | Zeus Co LLC Asc | 31.8K lbs |
| 14 | Rolls Royce Solutions N.a. | 72 lbs |
| 15 | Asco L.P. | 2 lbs |
| 16 | Argos Jackson Sc Concrete Plant | 0 lbs |
| 17 | House of Raeford Columbia Farms Feed Mill | 0 lbs |
| 18 | Avara Aiken Pharmaceutical Services | 0 lbs |
| 19 | Autoneum N.a. Inc. | 0 lbs |
| 20 | Pactiv Beech Island | 0 lbs |
| 21 | Kimberly Clark Palmetto | 0 lbs |
| 22 | Bae Systems | 0 lbs |
Cities in Aiken (8)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the environmental risk level in Aiken, South Carolina? ▼
Are there Superfund sites in Aiken? ▼
How many toxic release facilities are in Aiken? ▼
What is the air quality in Aiken? ▼
Is the drinking water safe in Aiken? ▼
What environmental agencies cover Aiken? ▼
What does this county environmental profile show?
This county environmental profile rolls up EPA Toxics Release Inventory facility reports, Safe Drinking Water Information System public-water-system filings, and Superfund National Priorities List sites for the county boundary defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Facility counts reflect facilities with a reporting address inside the county, not where downstream environmental effects may be observed. Population figures are from the most recent Census ACS 5-year estimate. The county detail page is updated whenever the upstream EPA programs publish revised data; see the methodology page for the documented ingest cadence and the editorial choices governing how aggregations are computed.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.