Free. No paywall. Twelve neighborhood editions of the same field guide, each rendered with the same care as a neighborhood essay — the same federal, state, and Metro Nashville databases, read against each address profile we know best. Plus a ten-step pre-close checklist you can run on any address yourself. The Invisible Layer is the editorial companion to a Parcelscope report: explanatory rather than parcel-specific, a starting place for understanding what we look for and why.
The Field Guide · Volume I · Davidson County
The Invisible Layer.
§ I · The thirteen hazards
Thirteen public records, read against one address.
Every Parcelscope report is a spatial join between your parcel and the same federal, state, and Metro Nashville databases listed below. Here is each one, what it tracks, and why it matters.
I
Underground Storage Tanks
Buried fuel tanks. A quarter have a release on record.
Gas stations, auto shops, fleet yards, and old industrial sites bury tanks. Steel corrodes, seams fail, and product migrates through groundwater for decades after closure. Industry data suggests roughly a quarter of U.S. tanks have a confirmed release on record. We also factor in local prevailing wind when evaluating proximity.
Most common · TDEC UST · EPA UST Finder · LUST
Read the chapter →
II
Dry-Cleaner Solvent Sites
Chlorinated solvents — PCE/TCE — that travel.
For decades drycleaners have used perchloroethylene; many sites have switched to alternatives, but legacy contamination persists for years after closure. PCE seeps through concrete floors and migrates downgradient through groundwater for blocks. Tennessee's DCERP program registers active drycleaners and tracks closed sites that entered the program for cleanup.
High-impact · TDEC DCERP · TDEC Remediation
Read the chapter →
III
Superfund & Federal Cleanup
EPA-tracked contaminated sites.
The federal SEMS database tracks every site EPA has assessed, listed, or remediated under Superfund. Listings can be active, deleted, or NPL-final. We surface the closest, current status, and contaminants of concern.
Federal · EPA SEMS
Read the chapter →
IV
Toxic Release Inventory
Annual chemical releases by facility.
Facilities meeting EPA reporting thresholds publish annual emissions, transfers, and disposal totals. We surface the closest, what they release, and their recent compliance history.
Federal · EPA TRI · DMAP · ECHO
Read the chapter →
V
Golf-Course Proximity
1 mi → 126% Parkinson's odds; elevated to 3 mi.
A 2025 JAMA Network Open case-control study found 126% higher odds of Parkinson's disease for residents within one mile of a treated golf course, with elevated odds extending out to three miles. American courses apply pesticides at up to 15× the rate of European ones.
Peer-reviewed · JAMA Netw. Open 2025 · Metro Parks · OSM
Read the chapter →
VI
Major Roads & Interstates
Diesel and PM2.5 from heavy-traffic corridors.
Heavy traffic emits PM2.5 and ultrafines linked to elevated cardiovascular and respiratory risk. We flag interstates and major arterials within range of any address.
PM2.5 · OpenStreetMap
Read the chapter →
VII
Active Rail Corridors
Diesel particulate from freight rail.
Freight rail corridors run diesel locomotives — a documented source of fine particulate exposure for blocks on either side. We flag active rail within range of any address, separately from road corridors.
PM2.5 · OpenStreetMap
Read the chapter →
VIII
High-Voltage Transmission
Transmission lines ≥69 kV within range.
High-voltage transmission corridors generate measurable electromagnetic fields. We surface the closest 69 kV or higher transmission line within 1 mile of any address, with distance and direction noted in the report.
EMF · OpenStreetMap (≥69 kV)
Read the chapter →
IX
Landfills & Waste Sites
Active and closed landfill methane.
Active and closed landfills generate methane and trace gases for decades. EPA's LMOP tracks municipal landfills nationally; we surface the closest within range and its current status.
Methane · EPA LMOP
Read the chapter →
X
Radon Geology Zone
2nd leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S.
EPA classifies every U.S. county by radon potential based on underlying geology. Davidson County is classified Zone 1 under EPA's map — the highest classification — though radon levels vary substantially within counties and can only be confirmed by testing.
Geology · EPA Map of Radon Zones
Read the chapter →
XI
Aviation Noise (BNA)
FAA Day-Night Average Sound Level contour.
BNA aircraft operations affect specific Nashville neighborhoods. We use FAA BNA runway diagrams with a Day-Night Average Sound Level (DNL) contour approximation, scoring closest-runway distance bands at 3 and 5 miles to flag noise-relevant proximity.
DNL contour · FAA · BNA runway diagrams
Read the chapter →
XII
Tree Canopy Coverage
A measurable proxy for local air quality.
EPA EnviroAtlas data shows the percentage of canopy cover in the surrounding 12-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC-12) watershed. More canopy correlates with cooler microclimates and lower particulate exposure.
HUC-12 watershed · EPA EnviroAtlas
Read the chapter →
XIII
Event-Venue Density
Race weekends, concerts, public gatherings.
The Fairgrounds Speedway hosts 10+ event weekends a year. Geodis Park, Nissan Stadium, Bridgestone Arena, Ascend Amphitheater, and FirstHorizon Park all generate predictable traffic, noise, and air-quality spikes. We check against a curated list of six anchor venues.
Quality-of-life · Curated venue list
Read the chapter →
§ II · The neighborhood atlas
Twelve neighborhoods, read closely.
Each edition reads its neighborhood as a single piece — the storied surface, the records beneath, the prevailing wind, the dominant flag. None of it replaces a Parcelscope report on a specific address; all of it explains why one might be useful.
East Nashville
A neighborhood with industrial DNA. Most parcels read clean — block-by-block variance is among the highest in the county.
Read the East Nashville edition →The Nations
Rapid redevelopment over genuine industrial soils. Records density is high; block-level findings vary sharply within a few hundred feet.
Read the The Nations edition →Sylvan Park
Well-canopied and largely residential, but McCabe sits upwind of the southwest edge — a finding many residents are surprised to learn.
Read the Sylvan Park edition →West Meade
Among the cleanest record profiles in the county. Dense canopy and minimal industrial history. Golf-course proximity is the dominant flag.
Read the West Meade edition →Belmont / Hillsboro
21st Avenue's commercial spine carries decades of station and cleaner records. Variance is moderate; pre-1960 builds nearer the corridor see more findings.
Read the Belmont / Hillsboro edition →Donelson
Aviation and freight are the defining factors. Specific streets fall closer to the BNA approach envelope; immediately adjacent ones don't.
Read the Donelson edition →Green Hills
Strong overall, with the predictable golf-course flag and a single legacy drycleaner finding on Hillsboro Pike.
Read the Green Hills edition →Belle Meade
The cleanest record profile we publish. The single dominant flag is upwind country-club proximity — a finding most residents have never been told about.
Read the Belle Meade edition →Crieve Hall
A solid mid-century neighborhood. The dominant findings cluster along Trousdale and Bell Road; pre-1965 builds nearer those corridors see meaningfully more.
Read the Crieve Hall edition →Inglewood
Pre-war housing stock with an industrial neighbor. Records density along Gallatin and the rail line is high; quieter interior streets read meaningfully cleaner.
Read the Inglewood edition →Germantown
Historic industrial soils, well-documented redevelopment. The records are extensive but mostly closed; the pattern across the broader neighborhood is dense.
Read the Germantown edition →Antioch
Logistics and freight density drives the record count. Block-level variation is significant; newer subdivisions read meaningfully cleaner than the corridor.
Read the Antioch edition →
§ III · The pre-close checklist
Ten steps, before you close.
You can run a Parcelscope-equivalent search yourself. It takes a few hours, requires no environmental training, and uses only public databases. Here is the checklist we run, in the order we run it.
01
Pull the UST file for every commercial parcel within ½ mile.
TDEC UST search (or EPA UST Finder / LUST) by address or facility name. Filter for releases. Note "NFA" status, but read the original release date.
02
Search TDEC DCERP for every dry-cleaner site in your zip.
Solvent migration in groundwater can travel hundreds of meters downgradient. Check if your address is downgradient.
03
Search EPA SEMS for any Superfund or federal cleanup site within a mile.
SEMS replaced the retired CERCLIS database in 2014. Active is meaningfully different from deleted; read the latest record-of-decision.
04
Check TDEC Remediation for any active Voluntary Cleanup file within a mile.
State remediation files often capture sites that never made it to the federal SEMS roll-up. Read the most recent inspection report.
05
Run the EPA TRI lookup at the facility level, not the zip level.
TRI tells you what a facility releases each year. Local prevailing wind tells you whether you're downwind of it.
06
Look up your address in the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
Davidson County is Zone 1 under EPA's map — the highest classification. Plan to test post-close regardless; indoor levels vary substantially by structure.
07
Map every golf course within 3 miles, public or private.
Note the bearing and the prevailing wind. The 2025 JAMA Network Open study found 126% higher odds of Parkinson's within one mile, with elevated odds extending out to three.
08
Search EPA LMOP for nearby active and closed landfills.
LMOP is the federal landfill-methane inventory. Closed sites still off-gas for decades; active sites generate predictable trace-gas events.
09
Check the BNA noise contour against your address.
BNA aircraft operations affect specific neighborhoods. Use FAA BNA runway diagrams and Day-Night Average Sound Level (DNL) contour distance bands at 3 / 5 mi rather than zip-code averages.
10
Trace any high-voltage transmission line within 1 mile.
OpenStreetMap's power layer shows lines at 69 kV and above. Closer is more relevant; the per-category score reflects distance and direction.
Want a Parcelscope report on a specific address?
The Field Guide explains what we look for. A Parcelscope report tells you what is actually there — for one Davidson County address, in plain English, delivered as a PDF within twenty-four hours. Forty-nine dollars.
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