Total Sites
6,167
9 federal databases
Severity Density
4.43
Severity-weighted sites per sq mi
High-Severity Sites
87
Superfund NPL, PFAS detections + similar top-tier records
Data Sources
EPA, USGS
9 databases checked
Source Breakdown
Top Counties in Delaware
New Castle County carries Delaware's densest documented record — 9.61 severity-weighted sites per square mile across 3,080 records, most commonly Underground Storage Tanks, including 38 high-severity sites. Density describes the county's record, not any single parcel.
| County | Sites | Density | Dominant Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle | 3,080 | 9.61 | Underground Storage Tanks |
| Sussex | 2,016 | 3.29 | Underground Storage Tanks |
| Kent | 1,071 | 2.49 | Underground Storage Tanks |
Agricultural Pesticide Use in Delaware
In the 2019 federal survey estimates, Delaware's most-applied agricultural pesticides statewide were Glyphosate, Atrazine and Metolachlor & Metolachlor-S. These estimates describe agricultural land use across the state — context for what's in use around the region, not a reading on any garden's soil.
Pesticide data: USGS NAWQA Pesticide National Synthesis Project (EPest county-level use estimates). Latest available county estimates: 2019.
County-Level Detail in Delaware
The federal record isn't uniform across a state. Here's what's documented around Delaware's counties with the densest records — each read from that county's own sites, not the state average. Proximity is information, not a diagnosis; a soil test settles any near neighbor.
Is It Safe to Grow Food in New Castle County?
Federal record: HighWe checked the federal record around New Castle County — 3,080 documented sites across 7 of the 9 source types we track, 38 of them high-severity.
The most significant on record: 34 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
New Castle County carries one of the heavier federal records we track — 3,080 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 New Castle County center
- Formosa Plastics Corporation D — Underground Storage Tanks · ~0.6 km from the county center
- Keysor Century — Underground Storage Tanks · ~0.6 km from the county center
- Akzo Chemical Inc — Underground Storage Tanks · ~0.6 km from the county center
These are the closest documented sites to New Castle County's geographic center — a screening reference, not a reading on any specific address. Check your own Delaware parcel to see what's actually near you.
Check an Address in Delaware
Read your Delaware parcel
See exact proximity distances to contamination sources for your specific parcel — plus soil, sun, drainage, and 1,112 plant recommendations.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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