Benton County, WA
The federal environmental record for Benton County (population 215,219): what is on file, where it is, and what remains open. Sources and retrieval dates are on the methodology page.
4
Superfund NPL sites
8
federal cleanup sites
3
PFAS-detecting water systems
10
TRI facilities
33
open tank releases
Superfund NPL sites
| Site | City | Status | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanford 100-Area (USDOE) | Benton County | on the NPL | 10/04/1989 |
| Hanford 1100-Area (USDOE) | Benton County | deleted | 10/04/1989 |
| Hanford 200-Area (USDOE) | Benton County | on the NPL | 10/04/1989 |
| Hanford 300-Area (USDOE) | Benton County | on the NPL | 10/04/1989 |
Drinking water: PFAS testing
Public water systems serving Benton 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 |
|---|---|---|
| BENTON CITY WATER WA5305800 | PFHxS: 14.3 ng/L PFOS: 8.7 ng/L PFHxA: 5.5 ng/L | above final limit |
| KENNEWICK CITY OF WA5338100 | PFOS: 11.5 ng/L PFHxS: 10.6 ng/L PFPeA: 7.5 ng/L | above final limit |
| RICHLAND CITY OF WA5372250 | PFOS: 17 ng/L PFPeA: 14.5 ng/L PFHxA: 11.6 ng/L | above final limit |
On a system with detections? Testing and treatment options
Facilities reporting toxic releases (2024)
10 facilities in Benton filed TRI reports for 2024, totalling 4.7M lb released.
| Facility | City | Top chemicals | Total released |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAMB WESTON INC RICHLAND FACILITY | RICHLAND | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Hydrogen sulfide | 3.3M lb |
| NUTRIEN US LLC | KENNEWICK | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia | 955k lb |
| US DOE HANFORD SITE | RICHLAND | Naphthalene, Lead | 354k lb |
| FRAMATOME NP | RICHLAND | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Hydrogen fluoride | 78k lb |
| PERMA-FIX NORTHWEST RICHLAND INC | RICHLAND | Lead And Lead Compounds | 9k lb |
| TESSENDERLO KERLEY INC. | KENNEWICK | Carbon disulfide, Dimethylamine | 5k lb |
| PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY - RICHLAND CAMPUS | RICHLAND | Lead | 2k lb |
| AMERICAN ROCK PRODUCTS HANFORD | RICHLAND | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead And Lead Compounds | 1k lb |
| TREE TOP INC - PROSSER SPRAYFIELD | PROSSER | Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) | 333 lb |
| KAISER ALUMINUM WASHINGTON | RICHLAND | - | 0 lb |
Underground fuel tanks
EPA's UST Finder records 378 tank facilities in Benton: 221 tanks in service and 1,051 closed. 33 fuel releases are on record, of which 33 remain open. Open releases are cleanups that have not reached "no further action".
Radon
EPA maps Benton 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 Benton, including sites assessed but never listed. Presence here records that EPA had reason to look, not a finding of danger.
- BPA MIDWAY SUBSTATIONRICHLAND
- CHANDLER POWER PLANTBENTON CITY
- HANFORD 100-AREA (USDOE)BENTON COUNTY
- HANFORD 1100 AREA DOEBENTON CITY
- HANFORD 300-AREA (USDOE)BENTON COUNTY
- US ECOLOGY INCRICHLAND
- USDOI BR BENTON CITY SITEBENTON CITY
- USDOI FWS UMATILLA NWR: WHITCOMB ISLAND UNIT WHITCOMB ISLPATERSON