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Kent County, Delaware: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Kent County is 166.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Bladder deaths at 1.4 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 392 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (85), Gas station (mapped facility) (61), Air permit holder (minor source) (38). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 30 in a million, driven mainly by formaldehyde.

Rates are age-adjusted per 100,000 people. A cancer signal is marked significant when the lower bound of its 95 percent confidence interval is above the U.S. rate. Facility counts use active federal records located inside the county boundary. Approximate county center: 39.0969, -75.5721.

How this county ranks in Delaware

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Cancer deaths and new cases versus the United States

Source: NCI and CDC State Cancer Profiles, both sexes, all ages. Sorted by the ratio of the county rate to the U.S. rate.

Cancer rates for Kent County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	New cases	17.9	13	1.38xSignificant	15.2 to 20.9	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	5.6	4.1	1.37xSignificant	4.3 to 7.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	66.4	51.8	1.28xSignificant	61.9 to 71.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	38.5	30.2	1.27xSignificant	35.1 to 42.2	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	8.3	6.6	1.26xSignificant	6.7 to 10.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.4	17.9	1.25xSignificant	19.7 to 25.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6	4.8	1.25x	4.7 to 7.7	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	23.3	18.7	1.25xSignificant	20.6 to 26.2	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.5	3.7	1.22x	3.3 to 5.9	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	13.7	11.3	1.21xSignificant	11.7 to 16	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	166.2	143.2	1.16xSignificant	158.8 to 173.8	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	526	453.4	1.16xSignificant	512.5 to 539.6	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5.3	4.6	1.15x	4 to 6.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	16	13.9	1.15x	13.8 to 18.5	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	3.1	2.7	1.15x	2.2 to 4.4	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5	4.4	1.14x	3.7 to 6.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.7	3.4	1.09x	2.7 to 5	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	15.5	14.5	1.07x	13.2 to 18	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.3	8.7	1.07x	7.7 to 11.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.1	2	1.05x	1.3 to 3.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.4	6.2	1.03x	4.9 to 8.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.8	6.6	1.03x	5.4 to 8.5	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	16.8	16.4	1.02x	11.2 to 24.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.8	5.7	1.02x	4.5 to 7.4	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.1	18.5	0.92x	14.7 to 19.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.9	23.8	0.92x	19.1 to 24.9	2019-2023

Mortality measures versus the U.S. county median

Source: County Health Rankings, built from CDC National Vital Statistics System death records. The comparison value is the median of all U.S. counties.

Mortality measures for Kent County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,077.9	9,842.6	+2%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.1	75.3	-0%	years
Child mortality	65.7	59.8	+10%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.2	6.2	-0%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	94.3	96.9	-3%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	46.7	28.6	+63%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 30 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde17.61 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride3 per million
Acetaldehyde1.61 per million
Benzene1.16 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 276 good, 4 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 41, peak 122.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

392 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

Rail grade crossing85
Gas station (mapped facility)61
Air permit holder (minor source)38
Small hazardous waste generator30
NPDES wastewater discharge permit30
Industrial wastewater discharge24
Brownfield property23
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)16
Public airport12
TRI reporting facility10
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)10
Major air pollution source9
Hazardous waste transporter9
Large greenhouse gas emitter6
Large hazardous waste generator6
Heliport5
Gas power plant4
Solar power plant4
EPA air quality monitor3
Superfund (NPL) site2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Commercial airport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Biomass power plant1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Dover Air Force Base, Dover
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 35.9. NPL Site.
EPA site ID DE8570024010 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Dover Gas Light Co., Dover
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 35.6. NPL Site.
EPA site ID DED980693550 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Milford Processing Plant, Milford
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $34,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000526547 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.5
Handytube Llc, Camden
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Trichloroethylene, Nickel, Chromium, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 20,558 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 19934CMDLMRTE10 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Nrg Energy Center-Dover, Dover
Major air pollution source. Penalties $50,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000338910 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Us Dod Usaf Dover Afb, Dover Afb
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene, Naphthalene and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,547 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 19902DVRRF436SP (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Nrg Energy Center-Dover, Dover
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $50,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000338910 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Dentsply Sirona - Milford Site, Milford
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methyl methacrylate, Methanol. 21,937 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 19963CLKDN779EA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Garrison Energy Center, Dover
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 13,824 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1990WCLPNC45GAR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Handytube Llc, Camden
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041997961 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Hanover Foods Corp, Clayton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 9,965 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 19938NTRSPWESTD (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Nrg Energy Center-Dover, Dover
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $50,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000338910 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Kent County Regional Wwtf, Milford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $200,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054584632 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Dentsply Sirona, Milford
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000338992 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Perdue Foods Llc - Milford Processing Plant, Milford
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Peracetic acid. 3,660 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 19963CNGRBPOBOX (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Calpine Corporation - Garrison Energy Center, Dover
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070069290 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Hanover Foods Corp, Clayton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000585073 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Hma Concrete Llc Dba Heritage Concrete Cheswold Facility, Cheswold
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). Reports carcinogens. 17 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1993WHMCNC376HL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Metal Masters Food Service Equ Ipment Co, Clayton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 16 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 19938MTLMS100IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.4
Dover Afb, Dover
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID DOV (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Us Dod Usaf Dover Afb, Dover
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002096703 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.7
PLATFORM IN FIELD BEHIND DELAWARE FED. CREDIT UNION BLDG, Dover
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 100010003 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4.7
Milford Processing Plant, Milford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $34,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000526547 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Baltimore Aircoil Co, Milford
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046278899 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Griffith Energy Services Inc Carl King Inc, Dover
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Naphthalene, Xylene (mixed isomers). Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 19901CRLKN1400E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Kent County

Delaware state cancer registry
Cancer incidence counts by census tract or ZIP code, by cancer type and year (de-identified). Any cancer cluster inquiries or investigations in Kent County, and their findings.
Delaware vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Delaware health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Delaware environmental agency and the U.S. EPA regional office
Compliance history, inspection reports, notices of violation, penalties and enforcement actions for each facility above, cited by EPA FRS registry ID.
Delaware drinking water program
Violation notices, sampling results and sanitary surveys for the public water systems serving the county, including any system serving a correctional facility.
Department of corrections or county sheriff
Water testing, grievances and environmental health inspections for the correctional facilities listed above.

Each Envyrofax address report includes a printable records request worksheet with the custodian and the exact request wording per finding.

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