New Hanover, NC
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 New Hanover in North Carolina · Population: 231,214
New Hanover, NC is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 15 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, 12 Safe Drinking Water Act systems, and 0 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Together these generate an environmental burden score of 43/100 (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 18.6M lbs of reported toxic releases under EPCRA Section 313, while 3 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 97 in 2024, with 81% 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 | 293 (81%) | 70 | 0 | 97 |
| 2023 | 237 (65%) | 124 | 1 | 142 |
| 2022 | 268 (74%) | 93 | 0 | 80 |
| 2021 | 286 (79%) | 74 | 0 | 93 |
| 2020 | 328 (92%) | 29 | 0 | 77 |
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 (12)
| System | Population | Violations |
|---|---|---|
| CFPUA-WILMINGTON | 198,740 | 0 |
| CAROLINA BEACH WATER SYSTEM | 6,864 | 0 |
| CFPUA - WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH | 5,300 | 4 |
| KURE BEACH WATER SYSTEM | 5,110 | 4 |
| SILVER BLUFF NURSING HOME | 300 | 0 |
| NORTHSIDE MHP | 180 | 0 |
| SOUTH RIDGE MHP | 115 | 0 |
| OYSTER POINT S/D | 99 | 3 |
| COLLEGE VIEW MHP | 66 | 0 |
| SHADY HAVEN MHP | 46 | 0 |
| SIMMONS HEIGHTS APARTMENTS | 35 | 0 |
| HARVEST VIEW HOA | 25 | 0 |
TRI Facilities (15)
| # | Facility | Total Releases |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fortron Industries LLC | 10.8M lbs |
| 2 | American Chrome & Chemicals | 7.0M lbs |
| 3 | Corning Inc | 612.2K lbs |
| 4 | Stepan Co | 96.5K lbs |
| 5 | Wilbara LLC | 71.1K lbs |
| 6 | Gev Company/geh Nea/gnf-A | 54.0K lbs |
| 7 | Senneca Holdings (hmf Express) | 712 lbs |
| 8 | Gold Bond Building Products - Wilmington | 250 lbs |
| 9 | S&w Castle Hayne Plant | 38 lbs |
| 10 | S&w Wilmington Plant | 34 lbs |
| 11 | Argos Ready Mix Scotts Hill Concrete Plant | 1 lbs |
| 12 | Adams an Oldcastle Co - Castle Hayne | 0 lbs |
| 13 | Argos Sunnyvale Concrete Plant | 0 lbs |
| 14 | Sturdy Corp | 0 lbs |
| 15 | South Atlantic Services Inc | 0 lbs |
Cities in New Hanover (2)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the environmental risk level in New Hanover, North Carolina? ▼
Are there Superfund sites in New Hanover? ▼
How many toxic release facilities are in New Hanover? ▼
What is the air quality in New Hanover? ▼
Is the drinking water safe in New Hanover? ▼
What environmental agencies cover New Hanover? ▼
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.