Mount Pleasant, SC

The City of Mount Pleasant is home to an estimated 86,668 residents, and it’s located in Charleston County, SC.

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

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

Hazardous Sites near Mount Pleasant, SC

There are two Superfund sites in Charleston County, SC. Superfund sites, like Koppers Co., Inc. (Charleston Plant) in Charleston, SC, 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 Mount Pleasant, SC area, be sure to review the map and background information provided below:

Map Legend:

45019

A. Koppers Co., Inc. (Charleston Plant) (HRS Score: 50)

The Koppers Co., Inc. (Charleston Plant) site, the location of a former wood treatment facility, is located in Charleston, SC.

Contaminants found at the Koppers Co., Inc. (Charleston Plant) site include:

Arsenic
Chromium
Lead
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)
Dieldrin

45019

B. Macalloy Corporation (HRS Score: 50)

The Macalloy Corporation site, where a ferrochromium alloy smelting plant operated from 1941 to 1998, is located in North Charleston, SC.

Contaminants found at the Macalloy Corporation site include:

Antimony
Arsenic
Chromium
Iron
Chromium(VI)

Air Quality in the Mount Pleasant, SC 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 Charleston County, SC 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

Radon Levels in Mount Pleasant, SC 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 Charleston County, SC is predicted to be less than 2 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), so the county has been assigned EPA Radon Zone 3.

EPA Radon Zone

But, it's worth mentioning homes with elevated levels of radon have been found in all three radon zones. So, despite the fact Mount Pleasant, SC is in EPA Radon Zone 3, you should have a radon test performed on any home you purchase in the area.

Water Quality in Mount Pleasant, SC 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 Charleston County, SC water provider(s) violated the maximum allowable level for one or more regulated contaminants:

Filter Value	Water System	Contaminant	Health Effects
45019	Charleston Water System (Sc1010001)	TTHM	Liver, kidney, or central nervous system problems; increased risk of cancer
45019	Dewees Utilities (1050011)	TTHM	Liver, kidney, or central nervous system problems; increased risk of cancer
45019	Isle of Palms W/S Comm (1010004)	Fluoride	Bone disease (pain and tenderness of the bones); children may get mottled teeth
45019	Mt Pleasant Water Works (1010002)	TTHM	Liver, kidney, or central nervous system problems; increased risk of cancer
45019	Sullivans Island Town of (1010003)	Fluoride	Bone disease (pain and tenderness of the bones); children may get mottled teeth

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.