Polk County, IA
The federal environmental record for Polk County (population 505,255): what is on file, where it is, and what remains open. Sources and retrieval dates are on the methodology page.
3
Superfund NPL sites
18
federal cleanup sites
1
PFAS-detecting water systems
32
TRI facilities
20
open tank releases
Superfund NPL sites
| Site | City | Status | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines TCE | Des Moines | on the NPL | 09/08/1983 |
| Lot 46 Valley Gardens TCE | Des Moines | on the NPL | 03/07/2024 |
| Railroad Avenue Groundwater Contamination | Des Moines | on the NPL | 09/05/2002 |
Drinking water: PFAS testing
Public water systems serving Polk 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 |
|---|---|---|
| BONDURANT MUNI WATER SUPPLY IA7717032 | PFHxS: 3.5 ng/L | detected |
On a system with detections? Testing and treatment options
Facilities reporting toxic releases (2024)
32 facilities in Polk filed TRI reports for 2024, totalling 801k lb released. The 25 largest by volume:
| Facility | City | Top chemicals | Total released |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADM SOYBEAN PROCESSING | DES MOINES | n-Hexane | 608k lb |
| SAFETY-KLEEN SYSTEMS DES MOINES (DES) | DES MOINES | Ethylene glycol, Polycyclic aromatic compounds | 81k lb |
| U.S. ARMY IOWA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD CAMP DODGE INSTALLATION | JOHNSTON | Lead, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) | 50k lb |
| ADM ANIMAL NUTRITION | DES MOINES | Zinc compounds, Manganese compounds | 20k lb |
| JOHN DEERE DES MOINES WORKS | ANKENY | Certain glycol ethers, Manganese | 13k lb |
| CB&I STORAGE TANK SOLUTIONS LLC. | CLIVE | Zinc (fume or dust), Manganese | 12k lb |
| BARTON SOLVENTS INC DES MOINES | DES MOINES | Xylene (mixed isomers), Methanol | 3k lb |
| BRIDGESTONE AMERICAS TIRE OPERATIONS LLC | DES MOINES | Zinc compounds, Polycyclic aromatic compounds | 3k lb |
| AIRGAS USA LLC | ANKENY | Propylene | 2k lb |
| CENTRAL IOWA READY MIX | GRIMES | Lead | 2k lb |
| CENTRAL IOWA READY MIX | DES MOINES | Lead | 2k lb |
| LIBERTY READY MIX - GRIMES | GRIMES | Lead | 1k lb |
| TITAN TIRE CORP | DES MOINES | Zinc compounds, Lead compounds | 1k lb |
| LIBERTY READY MIX | DES MOINES | Lead | 1k lb |
| LIBERTY READY MIX PLANT 3 | DES MOINES | Lead | 892 lb |
| SPARTECH LLC | PLEASANT HILL | Methyl methacrylate | 738 lb |
| KATECHO INC | DES MOINES | Acrylic acid | 724 lb |
| QUALITY MANUFACTURING CORP - URBANDALE | URBANDALE | Nickel, Chromium | 677 lb |
| CENTRAL IOWA READY MIX WEST DES MOINES | WEST DES MOINES | Lead | 608 lb |
| ANDERSON ERICKSON DAIRY | DES MOINES | Peracetic acid, Nitric acid | 174 lb |
| HELENA INDUSTRIES LLC | DES MOINES | Ammonia, 2,4-D 2-ethylhexyl ester | 34 lb |
| ALL STATE INDUSTRIES INC. | WEST DES MOINES | Diisocyanates | 14 lb |
| LEMAR-DES MOINES | DES MOINES | Manganese, Nickel | 11 lb |
| QUALITY MANUFACTURING CORP | DES MOINES | Manganese, Nickel | 10 lb |
| DIAMOND ANIMAL HEALTH | DES MOINES | Mercury compounds | 8 lb |
Underground fuel tanks
EPA's UST Finder records 1,097 tank facilities in Polk: 748 tanks in service and 2,659 closed. 676 fuel releases are on record, of which 20 remain open. Open releases are cleanups that have not reached "no further action".
Radon
EPA maps Polk as Zone 1, the highest predicted indoor radon levels (over 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 Polk, including sites assessed but never listed. Presence here records that EPA had reason to look, not a finding of danger.
- ANKENY DRY CLEANERSANKENY
- DES MOINES (EX) ORDNANCE PLANTANKENY
- DES MOINES TCEDES MOINES
- DES MOINES VOCATIONAL SCHOOLDES MOINES
- DICO, INC.DES MOINES
- DYCHEMDES MOINES
- FORT DES MOINESDES MOINES
- FRENCH WAY DRY CLEANERSDES MOINES
- HIGHLANDER CLEANERSDES MOINES
- IOWA AIR NATL GUARD DES MOINES AIRPORTDES MOINES
- LOT 46 VALLEY GARDENS TCEDES MOINES
- NOAH'S CLEANERS INCDES MOINES
- PESTICIDE-N W 26TH STREET DRUMDES MOINES
- RAILROAD AVENUE GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATIONWEST DES MOINES
- SAFETY-KLEEN SYSTEMS INC - FORMER SITE OFGRIMES
- SAYLORVILLE RESERVOIR AND RECREATION AREAJOHNSTON
- STEARNS AUTOMOTIVEWEST DES MOINES
- TUTTLE STREET LANDFILLDES MOINES