Kern County, CA
The federal environmental record for Kern County (population 913,820): what is on file, where it is, and what remains open. Sources and retrieval dates are on the methodology page.
2
Superfund NPL sites
23
federal cleanup sites
6
PFAS-detecting water systems
35
TRI facilities
16
open tank releases
Superfund NPL sites
| Site | City | Status | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown & Bryant, Inc. (Arvin Plant) | Arvin | on the NPL | 10/04/1989 |
| Edwards Air Force Base | Kern County | on the NPL | 08/30/1990 |
Drinking water: PFAS testing
Public water systems serving Kern with at least one PFAS detection under UCMR5. The federal limit for PFOA and PFOS is 4 ng/L; EPA proposed in May 2026 to rescind the limits for the other compounds, which are shown for information.
| System | Highest results | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| CWS - BAKERSFIELD CA1510003 | PFOS: 14 ng/L PFOA: 9.1 ng/L PFHxS: 7.3 ng/L | above final limit |
| BAKERSFIELD, CITY OF CA1510031 | PFOS: 8.4 ng/L PFNA: 4.7 ng/L PFHxS: 4.2 ng/L | above final limit |
| BEAR VALLEY CSD CA1510038 | PFOA: 5.7 ng/L | above final limit |
| GOLDEN HILLS CSD CA1510045 | PFOA: 18.6 ng/L PFPeA: 9.3 ng/L PFOS: 7.8 ng/L | above final limit |
| CWS - NORTH GARDEN CA1510055 | PFOS: 4.6 ng/L | above final limit |
| VAUGHN WC INC CA1510029 | PFHxA: 3.4 ng/L PFPeA: 3.1 ng/L | detected |
On a system with detections? Testing and treatment options
Facilities reporting toxic releases (2024)
35 facilities in Kern filed TRI reports for 2024, totalling 6.6M lb released. The 25 largest by volume:
| Facility | City | Top chemicals | Total released |
|---|---|---|---|
| CLEAN HARBORS BUTTONWILLOW LLC | BUTTONWILLOW | Asbestos (friable), Aluminum oxide (fibrous forms) | 5.3M lb |
| NEW CARROT FARMS LLC DBA BOLTHOUSE FRESH FOODS | BAKERSFIELD | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia | 511k lb |
| PRC-DESOTO INTERNATIONAL INC. | MOJAVE | Methyl isobutyl ketone, Diisocyanates | 208k lb |
| GOLDEN QUEEN MINING CO LLC | MOJAVE | Lead, Mercury | 120k lb |
| US DOD USAF EDWARDS AFB CA | EDWARDS | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead | 108k lb |
| FRITO LAY INC. | BAKERSFIELD | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) | 107k lb |
| CONTAINMENT SOLUTIONS INC | BAKERSFIELD | Styrene | 106k lb |
| NATIONAL CEMENT CO OF CALIFORNIA INC | LEBEC | Ammonia, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size) | 44k lb |
| BAKERSFIELD RENEWABLE FUELS LLC - AREAS 1 & 2 | BAKERSFIELD | Diethanolamine, Asbestos (friable) | 23k lb |
| ELK CO OF TEXAS LLC | SHAFTER | Nickel compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) | 17k lb |
| KEMIRA WATER SOLUTIONS INC | MOJAVE | Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Lead | 12k lb |
| CALPORTLAND CO MOJAVE PLANT | MOJAVE | Ammonia, Lead And Lead Compounds | 7k lb |
| TEHACHAPI CEMENT LLC | TEHACHAPI | Ammonia, Lead And Lead Compounds | 7k lb |
| KERN ENERGY | BAKERSFIELD | Xylene (mixed isomers), Toluene | 5k lb |
| CHAMPIONX-BAKERSFIELD | BAKERSFIELD | Ammonia, Methanol | 4k lb |
| BUILDING MATERIALS MANUFACTURING LLC | SHAFTER | Formaldehyde | 4k lb |
| ENNIS-FLINT BAKERSFIELD | BAKERSFIELD | Methanol | 3k lb |
| BAKER PETROLITE | BAKERSFIELD | Methanol, Toluene | 2k lb |
| NUSIL TECHNOLOGY LLC | BAKERSFIELD | Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene | 2k lb |
| SAN JOAQUIN REFINING CO INC | BAKERSFIELD | Ammonia, Naphthalene | 2k lb |
| TRICAL INC. | MOJAVE | Chloropicrin, Propylene oxide | 1k lb |
| HOOVER TREATED WOOD PRODUCTS INC. | BAKERSFIELD | Copper compounds | 1k lb |
| U.S. DOD NAWS CHINA LAKE | CHINA LAKE | Lead | 858 lb |
| J.G. BOSWELL CO - KERN TOMATO | BUTTONWILLOW | Ammonia | 499 lb |
| DORF KETAL ENERGY SERVICES LLC - BAKERSFIELD SITE | BAKERSFIELD | Methanol, Toluene | 435 lb |
Underground fuel tanks
EPA's UST Finder records 434 tank facilities in Kern: 1,305 tanks in service and 0 closed. 905 fuel releases are on record, of which 16 remain open. Open releases are cleanups that have not reached "no further action".
Radon
EPA maps Kern as Zone 2, moderate predicted indoor radon (2 to 4 pCi/L average). Radon and air quality are covered in depth on lung.com.
The record for one specific address
County figures blur what matters: distance. The Address Environmental Report runs these same federal datasets against one address and reports every site, tank, polluter and water result around it, with distances, in about a minute.
Get the report - $39All federal cleanup sites on file
The wider Superfund enterprise inventory (SEMS) for Kern, including sites assessed but never listed. Presence here records that EPA had reason to look, not a finding of danger.
- AAD BAKERSFIELD SITEBAKERSFIELD
- BAKERSFIELD CHROME & BUMPERBAKERSFIELD
- BENHAM & JOHNSONBAKERSFIELD
- BROWN & BRYANTARVIN
- BROWN AND BRYANT - SHAFTER FACILITYBAKERSFIELD
- CUSTOM CLEANERSBAKERSFIELD
- EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASEEDWARDS
- FREEMANS CLEANERS (VOGUE CLEANERS)BAKERSFIELD
- KERN VALLEY SANITARY LANDFILLKERNVILLE
- NASA DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTEREDWARDS
- NAVAL PETROLEUM RESERVE #1TUPMAN
- ONE HOUR MARTINIZINGBAKERSFIELD
- OSAGE INDUSTRIESROSAMOND
- SAN JOAQUIN DRUM COBAKERSFIELD
- SECTION 8 GAS PLANT SWDSFORD CITY
- SHELL OIL GORE BKERN
- SIERRA PROCESS SYSTEMSBAKERSFIELD
- SPARKLE/BRUNDAGE CLEANERSBAKERSFIELD
- TEXACO SEC. 8 CENTRAL SOLID WASTE SITETAFT
- US FOREST SVC-BLACK BOB MINELEBEC
- USDA ARS CA SHAFTER COTTON RESEEARCH CENTERSHAFTER
- VICTORY MILLSITE (A & W SMELTER)MOJAVE
- WESTERN MILLING LLCMCFARLAND