Durham, NC
A PlainEnviro-computed score from reported facility/violation counts, not an official EPA rating, health forecast, or population-adjusted rate. See methodology.
Environmental data for Durham in North Carolina · Population: 329,405
Durham, NC is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 13 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, 45 Safe Drinking Water Act systems, and 0 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Together these generate an environmental burden score of 46/100 (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 1.0M lbs of reported toxic releases under EPCRA Section 313, while 18 water systems carry an active health-based violation in the SDWIS record. EPA Air Quality System monitors logged a median AQI of 51 and a peak AQI of 97 in 2024, with 46% 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 | 170 (46%) | 196 | 0 | 97 |
| 2023 | 163 (45%) | 196 | 4 | 181 |
| 2022 | 210 (58%) | 155 | 0 | 96 |
| 2021 | 160 (44%) | 204 | 0 | 175 |
| 2020 | 203 (55%) | 163 | 0 | 97 |
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 North Carolina, see the EPA's AirNow.gov.
Water Systems (45)
| System | Population | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| DURHAM, CITY OF | 322,083 | 0 |
| ROCKBRIDGE S/D | 1,042 | 13 |
| OAK HILLS MOBILE HOME PARK | 505 | 16 |
| SOUTHERN TRACE S/D | 485 | 19 |
| LAKESIDE MHC | 465 | 0 |
| CROWN MHP | 343 | 1 |
| SANDY HILL ESTATES | 325 | 3 |
| WHISPERING PINES MHP | 305 | 3 |
| BAY COUNTRY MOBILE HOME PARK | 300 | 0 |
| MANTUA MOBILE HOME PARK | 250 | 0 |
| OAKRIDGE ESTATES | 230 | 0 |
| PLEASANT ACRES MHP | 217 | 0 |
| FOREST BROOK MHP | 200 | 0 |
| JONES ESTATES LYNCHBURG VA LLC | 200 | 0 |
| SUBURBAN ACRES MHP | 190 | 0 |
| WINSTEAD MOBILE TERRACE | 189 | 7 |
| ROLLING VALLEY ESTATES | 180 | 0 |
| GREENTREE MOBILE HOME PARK | 170 | 0 |
| BERNIES MOBILE HOME PARK | 170 | 0 |
| BUFFALOE ROAD MHP | 162 | 3 |
| MILL ROAD ESTATES | 150 | 0 |
| CEDAR CREEK MOBILE HOME PARK | 150 | 0 |
| KNOB VUE ESTATES | 150 | 1 |
| CARVEL MANOR MHP | 148 | 1 |
| OAK RIDGE PARK MHP | 108 | 0 |
| DOVER BRIDGE PARK | 100 | 2 |
| STANTON HILLS COMMUNITY | 100 | 0 |
| ARBOR HILL MHP | 96 | 0 |
| EUGLENA JUNCTION | 96 | 0 |
| STONEGATE MHP S/D | 96 | 0 |
| GLEN LAKE ESTATES | 94 | 0 |
| PINE VALLEY ESTATES | 93 | 0 |
| HARSHBARGER MHP | 90 | 13 |
| PINEHURST MANOR MHP | 86 | 0 |
| DURHAM COUNTY ROUGEMONT WATER SYSTEM | 84 | 0 |
| VALLEY VIEW ESTATES | 80 | 3 |
| FRANKLIN MOBILE HOME VILLAGE | 80 | 8 |
| LAKESHORE COURT MOBILE HOME | 65 | 0 |
| PLEASANT HILL MOBILE ESTATES | 62 | 3 |
| HY VUE ACRES MHP | 62 | 0 |
| RIVERBEND ESTATES | 50 | 6 |
| ROBERTS TRAILER PARK | 50 | 0 |
| COLONIAL GLENN ESTATES | 50 | 3 |
| SKY VIEW TERRACE | 50 | 3 |
| HOMESTEAD MHP | 25 | 0 |
TRI Facilities (13)
| # | Facility | Total Releases |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brenntag Mid-South | 676.4K lbs |
| 2 | Wolfspeed Inc. | 118.7K lbs |
| 3 | Scm Metal Products Inc | 110.1K lbs |
| 4 | Ips Structural Adhesives Inc. | 76.5K lbs |
| 5 | Wolfspeed Inc. (rtp) | 18.2K lbs |
| 6 | Cormetech Inc | 13.0K lbs |
| 7 | Biogen Rtp | 1.1K lbs |
| 8 | Sunrock Industries LLC - Mdc | 610 lbs |
| 9 | Aisin North Carolina Corp | 602 lbs |
| 10 | General Electric Aerospace - Durham Engine Facility | 250 lbs |
| 11 | Foundation Labs By Ply Gem LLC | 15 lbs |
| 12 | Argos Ready Mix Hwy 55 Concrete Plant | 5 lbs |
| 13 | Argos Ready Mix Plum St Concrete Plant | 0 lbs |
Cities in Durham (2)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the environmental risk level in Durham, North Carolina? ▼
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How many toxic release facilities are in Durham? ▼
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What environmental agencies cover Durham? ▼
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.