How to read EPA pollution data, what the terms mean, and how to use PollutionLookup.com.
Superfund sites are properties contaminated by hazardous waste where EPA has identified a risk to human health or the environment. Sites on EPA's National Priorities List (NPL) are the most contaminated in the country and are eligible for long-term federal cleanup. Inclusion on the NPL does not mean the site is off-limits — many are active industrial properties, residential neighborhoods, or even parks — but it does mean EPA considers the contamination serious enough to require federal oversight.
Significant noncompliance (SNC) is EPA's designation for facilities with the most serious or repeated violations of federal environmental laws. A facility can be in SNC for Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, or RCRA hazardous waste violations. SNC is defined narrowly: it generally requires violations that have gone unresolved for multiple quarters, exceed specific thresholds, or represent a pattern of noncompliance. Being flagged as SNC puts a facility on EPA's enforcement priority list.
EPA can formally designate a facility as a significant violator before any penalty has been assessed. Penalty negotiation often lags violation findings by months or years. Some violations are resolved through a consent decree or compliance order without a monetary penalty. Others involve state agencies where penalty data isn't always reported back to EPA. A $0 penalty total doesn't mean the facility was innocent — it usually means the enforcement action is ongoing or was resolved without a fine.
The Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) tracks annual self-reported releases of about 770 chemicals from larger manufacturing, mining, and utility facilities. It covers roughly 23,000 facilities that exceed reporting thresholds. TRI does not track: smaller facilities below reporting thresholds, chemicals not on the TRI list, releases from mobile sources (cars, trucks, trains), non-point sources (runoff, drift), or most agricultural operations. TRI is a lower bound on industrial chemical pollution, not a full accounting.
EPA runs three separate tools for these datasets: the Superfund Site Information portal, the TRI Explorer, and ECHO. None of them let you ask one question across all three. PollutionLookup.com joins the datasets using EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) identifiers and spatial proximity, so a single address search returns Superfund sites, TRI releases, and EPA enforcement records in one result.
The source data is official and comes directly from EPA's published datasets (Superfund NPL, TRI annual releases, and ECHO enforcement records). Our presentation, joins, and summaries are not official EPA output — we're a public mirror, not the EPA. Always verify any finding against the EPA source before taking action on it.
ECHO publishes updated enforcement data weekly. TRI is updated annually, with the most recent reporting year released each summer. Superfund site information is updated as EPA changes site status. Our database is rebuilt from the latest federal sources on a regular schedule — the last build date is shown in the sitemap and on the About page.
Yes. Every state page includes a CSV download for all regulated facilities and for Superfund sites in that state, and the free JSON API supports state, program, and violator-status filters. The underlying EPA datasets are in the public domain and can be used for research, journalism, or any other purpose.
It depends on the facility type, what it releases, how far away it is, and local conditions like prevailing winds, watershed boundaries, and soil type. Proximity alone doesn't mean harm — many TRI facilities and regulated sites operate safely within permit limits. If a facility is in significant noncompliance, if it reports large releases of chemicals with known health effects, or if it's drawn multiple EPA enforcement actions, that's worth looking into. Your state environmental agency and local health department are the right next stops for specific concerns.
PollutionLookup.com is an independent project by Patrick White. It isn't affiliated with EPA or any government agency. If you find a bug, a data error, or a page that should exist but doesn't, the easiest way to get in touch is via the contact link on the About page.