Howard County, MD
The federal environmental record for Howard County (population 336,001): what is on file, where it is, and what remains open. Sources and retrieval dates are on the methodology page.
0
Superfund NPL sites
1
federal cleanup sites
2
PFAS-detecting water systems
7
TRI facilities
3
open tank releases
Drinking water: PFAS testing
Public water systems serving Howard 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 |
|---|---|---|
| GLENELG COUNTRY SCHOOL MD1130003 | PFPeA: 22.1 ng/L PFHxA: 13.7 ng/L PFOA: 10 ng/L | above final limit |
| HOWARD COUNTY D.P.W. DISTRIBUTION MD0130002 | PFPeA: 3.6 ng/L PFHxA: 3.4 ng/L | detected |
On a system with detections? Testing and treatment options
Facilities reporting toxic releases (2024)
7 facilities in Howard filed TRI reports for 2024, totalling 15k lb released.
| Facility | City | Top chemicals | Total released |
|---|---|---|---|
| MARYLAND & VIRGINIA LAUREL LLC | LAUREL | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) | 11k lb |
| PRECOAT METALS | ELKRIDGE | Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Certain glycol ethers | 3k lb |
| ELITE SPICE INC. | JESSUP | Propylene oxide | 602 lb |
| ELITE SPICE INC. | JESSUP | Propylene oxide, Ethylene oxide | 346 lb |
| CONCRETE PIPE & PRECAST LLC - JESSUP PLANT | JESSUP | Lead | 215 lb |
| NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORP. - TROY HILL 4 | ELKRIDGE | Lead | 0 lb |
| SCHUSTER CONCRETE READY MIX LLC-GUILFORD RD | JESSUP | Lead | 0 lb |
Underground fuel tanks
EPA's UST Finder records 458 tank facilities in Howard: 285 tanks in service and 1,315 closed. 317 fuel releases are on record, of which 3 remain open. Open releases are cleanups that have not reached "no further action".
Radon
EPA maps Howard 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 Howard, including sites assessed but never listed. Presence here records that EPA had reason to look, not a finding of danger.
- NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCYCOLUMBIA