Knox County, TN
The federal environmental record for Knox County (population 500,669): what is on file, where it is, and what remains open. Sources and retrieval dates are on the methodology page.
1
Superfund NPL sites
17
federal cleanup sites
2
PFAS-detecting water systems
21
TRI facilities
12
open tank releases
Superfund NPL sites
| Site | City | Status | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokey Mountain Smelters | Knoxville | on the NPL | 09/29/2010 |
Drinking water: PFAS testing
Public water systems serving Knox 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 |
|---|---|---|
| KNOXVILLE UTILITIES BOARD-KUB TN0000366 | PFBS: 3.7 ng/L | detected |
| FIRST UTIL DIST OF KNOX COUNTY TN0000369 | PFBS: 6.4 ng/L PFHxA: 3 ng/L | detected |
On a system with detections? Testing and treatment options
Facilities reporting toxic releases (2024)
21 facilities in Knox filed TRI reports for 2024, totalling 2.2M lb released.
| Facility | City | Top chemicals | Total released |
|---|---|---|---|
| NYRSTAR- IMMEL MINE | MASCOT | Zinc compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds | 1.8M lb |
| EXPLORE INDUSTRIES USA INC | KNOXVILLE | Styrene | 345k lb |
| ROHM & HAAS CHEMICALS LLC - KNOXVILLE SITE | KNOXVILLE | Acrylic acid, Ammonia | 53k lb |
| CEMEX CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS ATLANTIC LLC | KNOXVILLE | Ammonia, Lead compounds | 24k lb |
| DARLING INGREDIENTS KNOXVILLE FACILITY | STRAWBERRY PLAINS | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) | 13k lb |
| CMC STEEL TENNESSEE | KNOXVILLE | Zinc compounds, Manganese compounds | 12k lb |
| MPLX TERMINALS LLC - KNOXVILLE TN LP TERMINAL | KNOXVILLE | n-Hexane, Toluene | 3k lb |
| CORECHEM INC. | KNOXVILLE | Methanol, Ethylene glycol | 2k lb |
| SCHICK MANUFACTURING INC | KNOXVILLE | Ammonia | 719 lb |
| BAM INC. | KNOXVILLE | Hydrogen cyanide | 141 lb |
| EXEDY AMERICA CORP | MASCOT | Copper, Manganese | 139 lb |
| LAMBCON READY MIX | KNOXVILLE | Toluene, Benzene | 30 lb |
| FULTON BELLOWS LLC | KNOXVILLE | Nickel | 5 lb |
| WOODSTREAM CORP | KNOXVILLE | Tetrabromobisphenol A | 3 lb |
| SAFETY-KLEEN SYSTEMS KNOXVILLE (KNO) | KNOXVILLE | Ethylene glycol | 1 lb |
| READY MIX USA LLC-NEYLAND DRIVE PLANT | KNOXVILLE | Lead And Lead Compounds | 0 lb |
| TRU HALLS | KNOXVILLE | - | 0 lb |
| KELVION PRODUCTS INC. - KNOXVILLE | KNOXVILLE | - | 0 lb |
| SMYRNA READY MIX CONCRETE LLC PLANT 47 | KNOXVILLE | - | 0 lb |
| SMYRNA READY MIX PLANT 31 | KNOXVILLE | - | 0 lb |
| CHEVRON PHILLIPS CHEMICAL CO PERFORMANCE PIPE DIV | KNOXVILLE | - | 0 lb |
Underground fuel tanks
EPA's UST Finder records 1,119 tank facilities in Knox: 827 tanks in service and 2,574 closed. 1,022 fuel releases are on record, of which 12 remain open. Open releases are cleanups that have not reached "no further action".
Radon
EPA maps Knox 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 Knox, including sites assessed but never listed. Presence here records that EPA had reason to look, not a finding of danger.
- BERRY ROAD DUMPKNOXVILLE
- CRUZE ROAD DUMPKNOXVILLE
- DIXIE BARREL & DRUM COMPANYKNOXVILLE
- KELLER FOUNDRY AKA MIKE'S FOUNDRYKNOXVILLE
- KIMBERLIN HEIGHTS RD ABANDONED DRUMKNOXVILLE
- KNOX COUNTY DRUMSPOWELL
- KNOXVILLE COLLEGEKNOXVILLE
- LUNDY LANE DRUMKNOXVILLE
- PATENT PLASTICSKNOXVILLE
- PSC METALSKNOXVILLE
- SHAMROCK ORGANIC PRODUCTS FIREKNOXVILLE
- SMOKEY MOUNTAIN SMELTERSKNOXVILLE
- TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY CHATTANOOGA GARAGECHATTANOOGA
- WITHERSPOON CANDORA AVE SITEKNOXVILLE
- WITHERSPOON LANDFILLKNOXVILLE
- WITHERSPOON, DAVID INCORPORATEDKNOXVILLE
- ZINTECH, INC.KNOXVILLE