Is It Safe to Grow Food in Essex County?
Federal record: HighWe checked the federal record around Essex County — 2,935 documented sites across 7 of the 8 site registers we track, 115 of them high-severity.
The most significant on record: 102 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Essex County carries one of the heavier federal records we track — 2,935 documented sites, most of them underground storage tanks. That's a record of the area's history, not a verdict on any one yard: proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis. Before food beds go in, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with — and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Documented sites nearest the Essex County center
- Verizon West Orange Cev - Mt Pleasant Ave — Brownfields · ~0.6 km from the county center
- Verizon Business (Wsornj) — Underground Storage Tanks · ~0.6 km from the county center
- Mci Worldcom - W Orange Junction — Underground Storage Tanks · ~0.7 km from the county center
These are the closest documented sites to Essex County's geographic center — a screening reference, not a reading on any specific address. Check your own New Jersey parcel to see what's actually near you.
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See exact proximity distances to contamination sources for your specific parcel — plus soil, sun, drainage, and 1,086 plant recommendations.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
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