Somerset, ME
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 Somerset, ME (population 50,852).
According to EPA TRI, SDWIS, and Superfund NPL extracts, Somerset, ME has an environmental burden score of 42/100 (grade C+), ranking #338 of 500 counties in this sample. Underlying disclosure counts: 3 TRI facilities releasing 10.7M lbs, 23 health-based SDWIS violation rows, and 0 Superfund sites. The score is a percentile of federal disclosure footprints, not a diagnosis of current community health harm.
Among the lower-burden counties in the current dataset — ranked #338 of 500 — Somerset, ME still carries a measurable footprint: toxic releases is the county's highest-percentile indicator (63rd) among the four EPA layers synthesized into the composite score of 42/100 (grade C+): Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) volume, Safe Drinking Water Act health violations, Superfund National Priorities List presence, and carcinogen-releasing facility density.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zinc compounds | 5.2M lbs | No | No | 1 |
| Ammonia | 2.6M lbs | No | No | 1 |
| Methanol | 1.8M lbs | No | No | 1 |
| Manganese compounds | 1.4M lbs | No | No | 1 |
| Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size) | 363.4K lbs | No | No | 1 |
| Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) | 293.4K lbs | No | No | 1 |
| Manganese And Manganese Compounds | 287.3K lbs | No | No | 1 |
| Acetaldehyde | 256.9K lbs | Yes | No | 1 |
| Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)) | 170.2K lbs | No | No | 1 |
| Hydrogen sulfide | 143.7K lbs | No | No | 1 |
Which facilities pollute this county the most?
What is the environmental burden score for Somerset, ME?
Somerset ranks #338 of 500 counties analyzed -- among the lower documented environmental burden in the current dataset -- with an overall score of 42/100 (grade C+). Even here, toxic releases is the county's highest-percentile indicator (63rd) of the four measured. The 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 Somerset?
Somerset has 3 TRI (Toxic Release Inventory) facilities reporting to the EPA, with total releases of 10.7M 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 Somerset's screening report
This county's burden score sits among the lower end nationally -- use it as a starting point, then drill into the specific concern that matters to you.
- Somerset has 3 TRI facilities reporting to the EPA -- see which one releases the most. Sappi N.a. Inc. - Somerset Operations
- Ranked #338 of 500 counties analyzed -- see how Maine as a whole compares nationally. Maine 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.