Environmental Hazards by State
EPA Superfund sites and Toxics Release Inventory data broken down by U.S. state, from 16,060 Superfund sites and 77,295 TRI release records.
The distribution of Superfund sites and toxic chemical releases across states reflects decades of industrial activity, manufacturing history, and the concentration of chemical-intensive industries. States with heavy industrial legacies, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, New York, have the most Superfund sites. Texas leads in TRI releases due to its large petrochemical sector. These figures represent cumulative contamination and ongoing industrial activity, not necessarily current risk to residents.
Superfund Sites by State
EPA National Priorities List (Superfund) sites per state.
| # | State | Sites | Browse |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California (CA) | 1,174 | Browse |
| 2 | New Jersey (NJ) | 896 | Browse |
| 3 | New York (NY) | 758 | Browse |
| 4 | Michigan (MI) | 725 | Browse |
| 5 | Ohio (OH) | 679 | Browse |
| 6 | Georgia (GA) | 647 | Browse |
| 7 | Florida (FL) | 644 | Browse |
| 8 | Illinois (IL) | 631 | Browse |
| 9 | Texas (TX) | 540 | Browse |
| 10 | North Carolina (NC) | 497 | Browse |
| 11 | Indiana (IN) | 433 | Browse |
| 12 | Massachusetts (MA) | 431 | Browse |
| 13 | Pennsylvania (PA) | 429 | Browse |
| 14 | Tennessee (TN) | 388 | Browse |
| 15 | Alabama (AL) | 376 | Browse |
| 16 | Washington (WA) | 342 | Browse |
| 17 | Alaska (AK) | 330 | Browse |
| 18 | Wisconsin (WI) | 323 | Browse |
| 19 | South Carolina (SC) | 298 | Browse |
| 20 | Colorado (CO) | 293 | Browse |
| 21 | Puerto Rico (PR) | 288 | Browse |
| 22 | Kentucky (KY) | 282 | Browse |
| 23 | Missouri (MO) | 279 | Browse |
| 24 | Connecticut (CT) | 277 | Browse |
| 25 | New Mexico (NM) | 275 | Browse |
| 26 | Oregon (OR) | 274 | Browse |
| 27 | Idaho (ID) | 237 | Browse |
| 28 | Arizona (AZ) | 233 | Browse |
| 29 | Utah (UT) | 207 | Browse |
| 30 | Virginia (VA) | 188 | Browse |
| 31 | Oklahoma (OK) | 186 | Browse |
| 32 | Louisiana (LA) | 186 | Browse |
| 33 | Maryland (MD) | 174 | Browse |
| 34 | Minnesota (MN) | 172 | Browse |
| 35 | Nebraska (NE) | 170 | Browse |
| 36 | Kansas (KS) | 163 | Browse |
| 37 | Mississippi (MS) | 156 | Browse |
| 38 | Nevada (NV) | 144 | Browse |
| 39 | Rhode Island (RI) | 139 | Browse |
| 40 | West Virginia (WV) | 130 | Browse |
| 41 | Iowa (IA) | 130 | Browse |
| 42 | Montana (MT) | 127 | Browse |
| 43 | Maine (ME) | 104 | Browse |
| 44 | Hawaii (HI) | 96 | Browse |
| 45 | Arkansas (AR) | 96 | Browse |
| 46 | New Hampshire (NH) | 94 | Browse |
| 47 | Delaware (DE) | 67 | Browse |
| 48 | Wyoming (WY) | 64 | Browse |
| 49 | Washington D.C. (DC) | 50 | Browse |
| 50 | South Dakota (SD) | 47 | Browse |
| 51 | Vermont (VT) | 45 | Browse |
| 52 | VI (VI) | 40 | Browse |
| 53 | Guam (GU) | 33 | Browse |
| 54 | MP (MP) | 24 | Browse |
| 55 | North Dakota (ND) | 23 | Browse |
| 56 | AS (AS) | 20 | Browse |
| 57 | PW (PW) | 3 | Browse |
| 58 | FM (FM) | 2 | Browse |
| 59 | MH (MH) | 1 | Browse |
Top TRI Release States
States by total toxic chemical releases reported to the EPA TRI program.
| # | State | Releases (lbs) | Records |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Puerto Rico (PR) | 0 | 306 |
| 2 | Montana (MT) | 0 | 327 |
| 3 | North Carolina (NC) | 0 | 2,213 |
| 4 | North Dakota (ND) | 0 | 486 |
| 5 | Nebraska (NE) | 0 | 850 |
| 6 | New Hampshire (NH) | 0 | 245 |
| 7 | New Jersey (NJ) | 0 | 1,007 |
| 8 | New Mexico (NM) | 0 | 426 |
| 9 | Nevada (NV) | 0 | 676 |
| 10 | New York (NY) | 0 | 1,509 |
| 11 | Ohio (OH) | 0 | 4,743 |
| 12 | Oklahoma (OK) | 0 | 1,452 |
| 13 | Oregon (OR) | 0 | 815 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania (PA) | 0 | 3,335 |
| 15 | Mississippi (MS) | 0 | 1,102 |
| 16 | Rhode Island (RI) | 0 | 233 |
| 17 | South Carolina (SC) | 0 | 1,913 |
| 18 | South Dakota (SD) | 0 | 339 |
| 19 | Tennessee (TN) | 0 | 2,107 |
| 20 | Texas (TX) | 0 | 9,536 |
| 21 | Utah (UT) | 0 | 988 |
| 22 | Virginia (VA) | 0 | 1,207 |
| 23 | VI (VI) | 0 | 34 |
| 24 | Vermont (VT) | 0 | 90 |
| 25 | Washington (WA) | 0 | 993 |
| 26 | Wisconsin (WI) | 0 | 2,601 |
| 27 | West Virginia (WV) | 0 | 732 |
| 28 | Wyoming (WY) | 0 | 392 |
| 29 | Iowa (IA) | 0 | 1,695 |
| 30 | Alabama (AL) | 0 | 2,127 |
| 31 | Arkansas (AR) | 0 | 1,584 |
| 32 | AS (AS) | 0 | 4 |
| 33 | Arizona (AZ) | 0 | 956 |
| 34 | California (CA) | 0 | 3,361 |
| 35 | Colorado (CO) | 0 | 889 |
| 36 | Connecticut (CT) | 0 | 657 |
| 37 | Washington D.C. (DC) | 0 | 19 |
| 38 | Delaware (DE) | 0 | 171 |
| 39 | Florida (FL) | 0 | 1,786 |
| 40 | Georgia (GA) | 0 | 2,180 |
| 41 | Guam (GU) | 0 | 39 |
| 42 | Hawaii (HI) | 0 | 168 |
| 43 | Alaska (AK) | 0 | 350 |
| 44 | Idaho (ID) | 0 | 460 |
| 45 | Illinois (IL) | 0 | 3,432 |
| 46 | Indiana (IN) | 0 | 3,211 |
| 47 | Kansas (KS) | 0 | 1,186 |
| 48 | Kentucky (KY) | 0 | 1,764 |
| 49 | Louisiana (LA) | 0 | 2,895 |
| 50 | Massachusetts (MA) | 0 | 823 |
| 51 | Maryland (MD) | 0 | 480 |
| 52 | Maine (ME) | 0 | 272 |
| 53 | Michigan (MI) | 0 | 2,892 |
| 54 | Minnesota (MN) | 0 | 1,423 |
| 55 | Missouri (MO) | 0 | 1,788 |
Understanding State Environmental Data
Superfund Sites and Industrial Legacy
New Jersey has more Superfund sites per square mile than any other state, reflecting its dense industrial history, chemical manufacturing, petroleum refining, and heavy industry operated for over a century in close proximity to residential areas. Pennsylvania and California also have large inventories of contaminated sites from mining, steel, and manufacturing. A high Superfund count reflects past industrial activity, not necessarily current environmental conditions, many sites have been cleaned up or are actively undergoing remediation funded by the responsible parties or the federal Superfund trust fund.
TRI Releases and Industry Concentration
Toxics Release Inventory data reflects current and recent industrial operations. Texas dominates TRI release totals due to its massive petrochemical complex along the Gulf Coast, the largest concentration of chemical manufacturing in the Western Hemisphere. Louisiana, Indiana, and Ohio also rank highly due to their chemical, steel, and manufacturing sectors. TRI reporting is mandatory for facilities in covered industrial sectors that use or release listed chemicals above threshold amounts. The data represents reported releases to air, water, land, and underground injection wells, not health risk assessments.
Explore Environmental Hazards Data
Browse Superfund sites, search TRI releases by chemical, or view full statistics.