Cherokee County, SC
The federal environmental record for Cherokee County (population 56,714): what is on file, where it is, and what remains open. Sources and retrieval dates are on the methodology page.
1
Superfund NPL sites
4
federal cleanup sites
6
PFAS-detecting water systems
15
TRI facilities
33
open tank releases
Superfund NPL sites
| Site | City | Status | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medley Farm Drum Dump | Gaffney | on the NPL | 03/31/1989 |
Drinking water: PFAS testing
Public water systems serving Cherokee 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 |
|---|---|---|
| GAFFNEY BPW (1110001) SC1110001 | PFOA: 18 ng/L PFOS: 17.1 ng/L PFPeA: 6.9 ng/L | above final limit |
| BLACKSBURG TOWN OF (1110002) SC1110002 | PFOS: 13 ng/L PFOA: 12.4 ng/L PFHpA: 5.9 ng/L | above final limit |
| DANIEL MORGAN WATER DISTRICT (1120001) SC1120001 | PFOS: 5 ng/L PFOA: 4.1 ng/L | above final limit |
| GRASSY POND WATER CO (1120002) SC1120002 | PFOS: 19 ng/L PFOA: 15 ng/L PFHpA: 6.5 ng/L | above final limit |
| DRAYTONVILLE WATER DIST (1120003) SC1120003 | PFOS: 19.4 ng/L PFOA: 16.2 ng/L PFHxS: 5.5 ng/L | above final limit |
| GOUCHER WD (1120004) SC1120004 | PFOS: 17 ng/L PFOA: 14 ng/L PFBA: 5.5 ng/L | above final limit |
On a system with detections? Testing and treatment options
Facilities reporting toxic releases (2024)
15 facilities in Cherokee filed TRI reports for 2024, totalling 889k lb released.
| Facility | City | Top chemicals | Total released |
|---|---|---|---|
| MILLIKEN CHEMICAL ALLEN PLANT | BLACKSBURG | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Cyclohexane | 813k lb |
| SHURTAPE TECHNOLOGIES LLC PREFERRED FINISHING | BLACKSBURG | Ammonia | 34k lb |
| CORE MOLDING TECHNOLOGIES | GAFFNEY | Styrene | 23k lb |
| AZZ GALVANIZING - SOUTH CAROLINA LLC | BLACKSBURG | Zinc compounds, Lead | 12k lb |
| NESTLE USA INC. | GAFFNEY | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia | 4k lb |
| TRIBAL MANUFACTURING INC. | CHESNEE | Copper, Lead | 2k lb |
| FREIGHTLINER CUSTOM CHASSIS CORP | GAFFNEY | Certain glycol ethers, Ethylene glycol | 469 lb |
| WESTROCK CONTAINER LLC | COWPENS | Lead compounds, Mercury compounds | 206 lb |
| BIC CONSUMER PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING CO. INC. | GAFFNEY | Ethylene glycol | 92 lb |
| ADAMS COWPENS DM | GAFFNEY | Lead And Lead Compounds, Mercury | 1 lb |
| PALMETTO PEDIC LLC | GAFFNEY | Toluene diisocyanate (mixed isomers) | 1 lb |
| ADAMS AN OLDCASTLE CO-COWPENS | COWPENS | Lead, Mercury And Mercury Compounds | 0 lb |
| PLY GEM SIDING GROUP | GAFFNEY | - | 0 lb |
| ROYCE ASSOCIATES | GAFFNEY | - | 0 lb |
| OLDCASTLE LAWN & GARDEN | GAFFNEY | - | 0 lb |
Underground fuel tanks
EPA's UST Finder records 192 tank facilities in Cherokee: 200 tanks in service and 487 closed. 126 fuel releases are on record, of which 33 remain open. Open releases are cleanups that have not reached "no further action".
Radon
EPA maps Cherokee 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 Cherokee, including sites assessed but never listed. Presence here records that EPA had reason to look, not a finding of danger.
- FOWLER'S RADIATOR SHOPGAFFNEY
- MEDLEY FARM DRUM DUMPGAFFNEY
- VESTA'S ROAD LANDFILL SITEGAFFNEY
- VIRGINIA CAROLINA CHEMICAL (VCC) BLACKSBURGBLACKSBURG