Buncombe County, NC
The federal environmental record for Buncombe County (population 275,901): what is on file, where it is, and what remains open. Sources and retrieval dates are on the methodology page.
3
Superfund NPL sites
13
federal cleanup sites
0
PFAS-detecting water systems
22
TRI facilities
107
open tank releases
Superfund NPL sites
| Site | City | Status | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Ridge Plating Company | Arden | on the NPL | 09/14/2005 |
| Chemtronics, Inc. | Swannanoa | on the NPL | 09/08/1983 |
| CTS of Asheville, Inc. | Asheville | on the NPL | 03/15/2012 |
Drinking water: PFAS testing
No public water system serving Buncombe reported a PFAS detection in the UCMR5 national testing round. Systems serving under 3,300 people were only sampled in part, so absence from this table is not proof of absence in the water.
Facilities reporting toxic releases (2024)
22 facilities in Buncombe filed TRI reports for 2024, totalling 180k lb released.
| Facility | City | Top chemicals | Total released |
|---|---|---|---|
| DAY INTERNATIONAL INC | ARDEN | Toluene, Zinc compounds | 165k lb |
| XSYS N.A. | ARDEN | Styrene | 7k lb |
| SHAKESPEARE CO LLC | ENKA | Formic acid | 4k lb |
| DAVE STEEL CO INC | ASHEVILLE | Manganese, Chromium | 2k lb |
| LINAMAR NC | ARDEN | Copper, Manganese | 1k lb |
| BORGWARNER TURBO SYSTEMS | ARDEN | Diisocyanates | 124 lb |
| THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC | ASHEVILLE | Manganese, Diisocyanates | 112 lb |
| EATON - ARDEN NC ASHEVILLE | ARDEN | Copper | 51 lb |
| ARCADIA FARMS LLC | ARDEN | Ammonia, Lead | 30 lb |
| DODGE MECHANICAL POWER TRANSMISSION CO | WEAVERVILLE | Manganese, Ammonia | 23 lb |
| UNISON ENGINE COMPONENTS | ASHEVILLE | Nickel, Chromium | 6 lb |
| SOUTHERN CONCRETE MATERIALS-ASHEVILLE PLANT | ASHEVILLE | Lead And Lead Compounds | 1 lb |
| SOUTHERN CONCRETE MATERIALS-POND ROAD PLANT | ASHEVILLE | Lead And Lead Compounds | 1 lb |
| CAROLINA READYMIX & BUILDING SUPPLY LLC - ENKA | CANDLER | Lead And Lead Compounds | 0 lb |
| RUSSELL STANDARD CORP | BLACK MOUNTAIN | Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene | 0 lb |
| TYCO ELECTRONICS/CIID | FAIRVIEW | - | 0 lb |
| ADAMS AN OLDCASTLE CO-ASHEVILLE | ASHEVILLE | Lead | 0 lb |
| CAROLINA READY MIX & BUILDERS SUPPLY LLC - SWANNANOA | SWANNANOA | Lead And Lead Compounds | 0 lb |
| DUKE ENERGY PROGRESS LLC-ASHEVILLE STEAM ELECTRIC PLANT | ARDEN | - | 0 lb |
| PRATT & WHITNEY | ASHEVILLE | - | 0 lb |
| KEARFOTT CORP MOTION SYSTEMS DIV | BLACK MOUNTAIN | Lead | 0 lb |
| SAMOA CORP | WEAVERVILLE | - | 0 lb |
Underground fuel tanks
EPA's UST Finder records 626 tank facilities in Buncombe: 524 tanks in service and 1,517 closed. 566 fuel releases are on record, of which 107 remain open. Open releases are cleanups that have not reached "no further action".
Radon
EPA maps Buncombe 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 Buncombe, including sites assessed but never listed. Presence here records that EPA had reason to look, not a finding of danger.
- ASHEVILLE COAL GAS PLANTASHEVILLE
- BEACON MANUFACTURING PLANT FIRESWANNANOA
- BLUE RIDGE PLATING COMPANYARDEN
- BRAE BURN DRIVE GROUNDWATER ERARDEN
- CENTRAL OIL MURIATIC ACID SPILLBLACK MOUNTAIN
- CHEMTRONICS, INC.SWANNANOA
- CTS OF ASHEVILLE, INCASHEVILLE
- LUSTAR DYEING AND FINISHING, INC.ASHEVILLE
- MERRIMON AVE MERCURY SPILLASHEVILLE
- QUORUM KNITTINGWEAVERVILLE
- REVCO/LINDBERGASHEVILLE
- SAYLES-BILTMORE BLEACHERIESASHEVILLE
- SHULIMSON BROTHER'S SCRAP YARDASHEVILLE