In 2002, Middlesex County was ranked in the worst 10% of polluted counties in the United States in terms of air and water pollution. Two companies that ranked in the top 10 for polluters in the county were Polaroid Corporation in Waltham and the Cambridge Plating Company in Belmont, which is located several hundred feet from Belmont High School. Now operated by Purecoat North LLC, the Cambridge Plating Company was fined by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2002 following various violations and in 2004 following a fire that led to an accumulation of toxic wastewater.