Kern, CA
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2023 Toxics Release Inventory, Safe Drinking Water Information System, and Superfund National Priorities List, this Environmental Justice Screening Report covers Kern, CA (population 910,433).
According to EPA TRI, SDWIS, and Superfund NPL extracts, Kern, CA has an environmental burden score of 60/100 (grade D+), ranking #115 of 500 counties in this sample. Underlying disclosure counts: 41 TRI facilities releasing 55.7M lbs, 1,848 health-based SDWIS violation rows, and 1 Superfund site. The score is a percentile of federal disclosure footprints, not a diagnosis of current community health harm.
This county ranks among the highest-burden counties nationally in the current dataset — #115 of 500 — with drinking-water system violations the largest single contributor at the 94th percentile. Kern, CA's composite score of 60/100 (grade D+) synthesizes four EPA indicator layers: Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) volume, Safe Drinking Water Act health violations, Superfund National Priorities List presence, and carcinogen-releasing facility density.
Of the 1 Superfund site in this county (see the indicator breakdown above for the count), 1 is actively listed on the NPL.
Transparent derived index from EPA TRI / SDWIS / Superfund extracts: not an official EPA rating. Each of up to 500 counties is percentile-ranked on four rates (toxic lbs per capita 35%, health-based SDWIS rows per water system 25%, Superfund sites per 100k residents 20%, carcinogen-facility share 20%), then weighted. Population-less counties take a neutral 50th percentile on the per-capita indicators. See methodology.
A high burden grade does not by itself establish current health harm; it documents the cumulative regulatory and disclosure footprint drawn from EPA TRI, SDWIS, and Superfund data. Use the indicator breakdown below to see which component drives the score, and drill into the top chemicals and facilities for the underlying Form R filings. This percentile-based score is a different measure than the county profile's fixed-threshold risk score: expect the two numbers to differ.
Top Chemicals Released
| Chemical | Total Released | Carcinogen | PBT | Facilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminum oxide (fibrous forms) | 9.3M lbs | No | No | 1 |
| Ethylene glycol | 6.6M lbs | No | No | 4 |
| Asbestos (friable) | 6.2M lbs | Yes | No | 2 |
| Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) | 3.9M lbs | No | No | 4 |
| Copper And Copper Compounds | 3.9M lbs | No | No | 2 |
| Methanol | 3.6M lbs | No | No | 6 |
| Selenium And Selenium Compounds | 3.0M lbs | No | No | 1 |
| Zinc compounds | 2.3M lbs | No | No | 7 |
| Lead And Lead Compounds | 2.1M lbs | No | Yes | 13 |
| Naphthalene | 2.0M lbs | Yes | No | 11 |
Which facilities pollute this county the most?
Superfund Sites
What is the environmental burden score for Kern, CA?
Kern ranks #115 of 500 counties analyzed -- among the highest documented environmental burden in the current dataset -- with an overall score of 60/100 (grade D+). The largest contributor is drinking-water system violations, at the 94th percentile among counties measured. This score is based on toxic releases, water quality, Superfund contamination, and carcinogen exposure disclosure counts from EPA extracts, not a measured health outcome.
How many TRI facilities are in Kern?
Kern has 41 TRI (Toxic Release Inventory) facilities reporting to the EPA, with total releases of 55.7M lbs.
Data from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This screening tool is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the federal government.
What to do with Kern's screening report
This county's burden score sits among the highest nationally -- start with the indicator driving it, then drill into the specific concern that matters to you.
- Kern has 41 TRI facilities reporting to the EPA -- see which one releases the most. Clean Harbors Buttonwillow LLC
- Ranked #115 of 500 counties analyzed -- see how California as a whole compares nationally. California state profile
- See which counties nationwide carry the highest combined environmental burden. National rankings
This score synthesizes four EPA indicator layers into a single 0-100 index; it is not a health-risk diagnosis or a substitute for local environmental testing.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this Environmental Justice Screening Score is computed from the 2023 Toxics Release Inventory, the Safe Drinking Water Information System, and the Superfund National Priorities List, spanning PlainEnviro's database of more than 25,000 EPA-tracked facilities nationwide; see our methodology for the full scoring formula and source citations.