Janesville, WI

The City of Janesville is home to an estimated 64,359 residents, and it’s located in Rock County, WI.

This report will help you become better acquainted with Janesville and the surrounding area by addressing the following questions:

Are there any hazardous sites in Rock County, WI?
How clean is the air in Rock County, WI?
What’s the average radon level for homes in Rock County, WI?
Is the water in Rock County, WI safe to drink?

Hazardous Sites near Janesville, WI

There are two Superfund sites in Rock County, WI. Superfund sites, like Janesville Ash Beds in Janesville, WI, are areas that have been contaminated with hazardous substances. If not for the cleanup efforts orchestrated by the EPA, these sites could endanger people living in nearby communities.

The EPA uses the Hazardous Ranking System (HRS) to quantify the risk a contaminated site poses to human health and the environment. Sites assigned HRS scores of 28.5 or greater qualify for placement on the National Priorities List (NPL), and are eligible to receive federal funding for cleanup efforts.

Before the EPA deletes a site from the NPL, it conducts reviews to ensure the cleanup was sufficient. As a result, some sites remain on the active site list long after cleanup activities are complete.

For more information about the Superfund sites located in the Janesville, WI area, be sure to review the map and background information provided below:

Map Legend:

55105

A. Janesville Ash Beds (HRS Score: 58)

The Janesville Ash Beds site is located in Janesville, WI.

Contaminants found at the Janesville Ash Beds site include:

Arsenic
Benzene
Bis(2-Ethylhexyl)Phthalate
Trans-1,2-Dichloroethene
Dichloromethane (Methylene Chloride)

55105

B. Janesville Old Landfill (HRS Score: 58)

The Janesville Old Landfill site is located in Janesville, WI.

Contaminants found at the Janesville Old Landfill site include:

Arsenic
Barium
Benzene
Iron
Lead

Air Quality in the Janesville, WI Area

The two most widespread forms of air pollution are ozone (smog) and particle pollution (soot). Exposure to these harmful pollutants, for even just a short period, can have adverse effects on your health.

Thanks to data collected by air monitoring equipment located across the country, the American Lung Association (ALA) is able to assess and track our air quality using three metrics:

Ozone
Short-term Particle Pollution
Year-round Particle Pollution

In their 2019 annual report, the ALA rated the air quality in Rock County, WI as follows:

Ground-Level
Ozone Pollution

Grading Scale: A-F

Short-Term
Particle Pollution

Grading Scale: A-F

Year-Round
Particle Pollution

Grading Scale: Pass/Fail

DNC (Data Not Collected): Data on associated pollutants were not collected in this county or county equivalent.
INC (Incomplete): Associated pollutants are being monitored in this county or county equivalent, but data were insufficient to assign a grade.

Radon Levels in Janesville, WI Area

Air quality inside your home can be impacted by a number of factors, including the presence of hazardous substances in building materials (asbestos, lead, formaldehyde, etc.) and local radon levels.

Radon is a naturally occurring gas you cannot see or smell. It can build up inside your home and negatively impact your indoor air quality as well as your health.

To provide a guideline, the EPA assigned one of three zones to each U.S. county and county equivalent:

Zone 1 (higher radon levels)
Zone 2 (moderate levels)
Zone 3 (lower levels)

The average indoor radon reading in Rock County, WI is predicted to be higher than 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), so the county has been assigned EPA Radon Zone 1.

EPA Radon Zone

The EPA Recommends acting to reduce your home's radon level if it's measured at 4 pCi/L or greater. So, if you're thinking about purchasing a home in Janesville, WI, you should strongly consider having a radon test performed.

Water Quality in Janesville, WI Area

In accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the EPA sets regulatory limits for drinking water contaminants known to cause adverse health effects.

The following Rock County, WI water provider(s) violated the maximum allowable level for one or more regulated contaminants:

Filter Value	Water System	Contaminant	Health Effects
55105	Caravilla Education & Rehab Center	Nitrate	Infants below the age of six months who drink water containing nitrate in excess of the MCL could become seriously ill and, if untreated, may die. Symptoms include shortness of breath and blue-baby syndrome.
55105	Clinton Waterworks	Thallium, Total	Hair loss; changes in blood; kidney, intestine, or liver problems
55105	Evansville Waterworks	Combined Radium (-226 and -228)	Increased risk of cancer
55105	Evansville Waterworks	Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U	Increased risk of cancer
55105	Pirates Cove Mobile Home Community	Nitrate-Nitrite	Infants below the age of six months who drink water containing nitrate in excess of the MCL could become seriously ill and, if untreated, may die. Symptoms include shortness of breath and blue-baby syndrome.; Infants below the age of six months who drink water containing nitrite in excess of the MCL could become seriously ill and, if untreated, may die. Symptoms include shortness of breath and blue-baby syndrome.
55105	Rockvale MHP	Nitrate	Infants below the age of six months who drink water containing nitrate in excess of the MCL could become seriously ill and, if untreated, may die. Symptoms include shortness of breath and blue-baby syndrome.
55105	Wrights Mobile Home Park	Arsenic	Skin damage or problems with circulatory systems, and may have increased risk of getting cancer
55105	Wrights Mobile Home Park	Nitrate	Infants below the age of six months who drink water containing nitrate in excess of the MCL could become seriously ill and, if untreated, may die. Symptoms include shortness of breath and blue-baby syndrome.

In addition to setting enforceable standards for harmful contaminants, the EPA also established guidelines to assist public water providers in managing the taste, odor and color of their drinking water.

To find out more about what’s in your drinking water, contact your utility company and request a copy of the latest Consumer Confidence Report.

Sources and Methods

Hazardous Sites: Identified using a report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), hazardous sites detailed on trendingtowns.com represent sites contained on the National Priorities List (NPL) as of November 25, 2019. The NPL is the list of national priorities among the known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States and its territories. All site-related data was sourced from the EPA.

Air Quality: Grades for ozone, short-term particle pollution, and year-round particle pollution were obtained from State of the Air 2019, a report compiled by the American Lung Association.

Radon Zones: Radon zone designations were obtained using a public use dataset provided by the EPA (September 11, 2019).

Water Quality: Drinking water violation data was sourced from the Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), a public use database provided by the EPA. The dataset included violations submitted to the database as of the third quarter of 2019.