Wake County, NC
The federal environmental record for Wake County (population 1,190,275): what is on file, where it is, and what remains open. Sources and retrieval dates are on the methodology page.
3
Superfund NPL sites
21
federal cleanup sites
7
PFAS-detecting water systems
29
TRI facilities
281
open tank releases
Superfund NPL sites
| Site | City | Status | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Koppers Co., Inc. (Morrisville Plant) | Morrisville | on the NPL | 03/31/1989 |
| North Carolina State University (Lot 86, Farm Unit #1) | Raleigh | on the NPL | 06/10/1986 |
| Ward Transformer | Raleigh | on the NPL | 04/30/2003 |
Drinking water: PFAS testing
Public water systems serving Wake 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 |
|---|---|---|
| RALEIGH, CITY OF NC0392010 | PFBA: 9 ng/L PFOS: 5.6 ng/L PFPeA: 4.3 ng/L | above final limit |
| HOLLY SPRINGS, TOWN OF NC0392050 | PFOS: 12 ng/L PFPeA: 8.1 ng/L PFHxA: 7.4 ng/L | above final limit |
| FUQUAY-VARINA, TOWN OF NC0392055 | PFPeA: 21 ng/L PFHxA: 19 ng/L PFBS: 15 ng/L | above final limit |
| BAYLEAF MASTER NC0392373 | PFHxS: 152.6 ng/L PFPeA: 59.1 ng/L PFHxA: 57.3 ng/L | above final limit |
| CARY, TOWN OF NC0392020 | PFBA: 7.3 ng/L PFPeA: 7 ng/L PFHxA: 6.6 ng/L | detected |
| APEX, TOWN OF NC0392045 | PFBA: 8.9 ng/L PFPeA: 7.8 ng/L PFHxA: 6.8 ng/L | detected |
| MEADOW LAKE S/D NC0392159 | PFHxS: 3.5 ng/L | detected |
On a system with detections? Testing and treatment options
Facilities reporting toxic releases (2024)
29 facilities in Wake filed TRI reports for 2024, totalling 321k lb released. The 25 largest by volume:
| Facility | City | Top chemicals | Total released |
|---|---|---|---|
| KELLANOVA - CARY BAKERY | CARY | Ammonia, Acetaldehyde | 128k lb |
| MALLINCKRODT PHARMACEUTICALS | RALEIGH | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Aniline | 88k lb |
| AJINOMOTO HEALTH & NUTRITION N.A. INC. | RALEIGH | Ammonia, Methanol | 82k lb |
| INTEGRATED DNA TECHNOLOGIES | MORRISVILLE | Acetonitrile, Toluene | 9k lb |
| JOHN DEERE TURF CARE | FUQUAY VARINA | Certain glycol ethers, Manganese | 6k lb |
| BRAVEN ENVIRONMENTAL LLC | ZEBULON | Ethylene, Propylene | 5k lb |
| SURTRONICS INC. | RALEIGH | Nitric acid | 3k lb |
| SUNROCK INDUSTRIES LLC - RDU | RALEIGH | Lead And Lead Compounds, Mercury And Mercury Compounds | 99 lb |
| OLDCASTLE PRECAST INC | RALEIGH | Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Lead compounds | 30 lb |
| SUNROCK INDUSTRIES LLC - NORTH RALEIGH | WAKE FOREST | Lead And Lead Compounds | 23 lb |
| SUNROCK INDUSTRIES LLC - EASTERN WAKE | ZEBULON | Lead And Lead Compounds | 15 lb |
| OLDCASTLE PRECAST INC | FUQUAY-VARINA | Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Lead compounds | 13 lb |
| CSL SEQIRUS INC | HOLLY SPRINGS | Mercury | 10 lb |
| CONCRETE SUPPLY CO. LLC - MORRISVILLE | MORRISVILLE | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead And Lead Compounds | 3 lb |
| CONCRETE SUPPLY CO. LLC - DURANT PARK | RALEIGH | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead And Lead Compounds | 3 lb |
| SAFETY-KLEEN SYSTEMS RALEIGH (RAL) | RALEIGH | Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Ethylene glycol | 2 lb |
| POTTERS INDUSTRIES LLC | APEX | Lead | 1 lb |
| EAST CAROLINA METAL TREATING INC. | RALEIGH | - | 0 lb |
| ARGOS APEX CONCRETE PLANT | APEX | Lead | 0 lb |
| THOMAS CONCRETE - RALEIGH | RALEIGH | Lead | 0 lb |
| ARGOS PERSHING RD CONCRETE PLANT | RALEIGH | Lead | 0 lb |
| THOMAS CONCRETE - WAKE FOREST | WAKE FOREST | Lead | 0 lb |
| ADAMS AN OLDCASTLE CO - MORRISVILLE | MORRISVILLE | Lead, Mercury | 0 lb |
| ARGOS KNIGHTDALE CONCRETE PLANT | KNIGHTDALE | Lead | 0 lb |
| THOMAS CONCRETE - KNIGHTDALE | KNIGHTDALE | Lead | 0 lb |
Underground fuel tanks
EPA's UST Finder records 1,414 tank facilities in Wake: 1,382 tanks in service and 2,935 closed. 1,188 fuel releases are on record, of which 281 remain open. Open releases are cleanups that have not reached "no further action".
Radon
EPA maps Wake 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 Wake, including sites assessed but never listed. Presence here records that EPA had reason to look, not a finding of danger.
- ARMY RESERVE XVIII AIRBORNE CORPSRALEIGH
- BOND STREET CONTAMINATEDRALEIGH
- CARALEIGH PHOSPHATE & FERTILER WORKSRALEIGH
- CONAGRA FOODS INC.GARNER
- COURTLAND DRIVE GAS LEAKRALEIGH
- ENVIROCHEM ENVIRONMENTAL SVCAPEX
- GRESHAMS LAKE INDUSTRIAL PARKRALEIGH
- JAMES AUSTIN ROAD TCE SITEWILLOW SPRING
- KING CROYDON CT MERCURY SPILLRALEIGH
- KOPPERS CO., INC. (MORRISVILLE PLANT)MORRISVILLE
- MANGUM ESTATESWAKE FOREST
- NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY (LOT 86, FARM UNIT #1)RALEIGH
- OLDE SOUTH ROAD RESPONSERALEIGH
- PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF NC INCORPORATEDCARY
- RALEIGH COAL GAS PLANT NO. 1RALEIGH
- RALEIGH COAL GAS PLANT NO. 2RALEIGH
- RALEIGH METAL RECYCLINGRALEIGH
- STONY HILL ROAD TCEWAKE FOREST
- WARD TRANSFORMERRALEIGH
- WOODLIEF ROAD WELL SITEWAKE FOREST
- ZEBULON MYSTERY SPILLZEBULON