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Essex County, Massachusetts: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Essex County is 129.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 3,038 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (886), Industrial wastewater discharge (548), Small hazardous waste generator (419). 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: 42.6502, -70.9183.

How this county ranks in Massachusetts

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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 Essex County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	New cases	16.4	13	1.26xSignificant	15.2 to 17.7	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	19.1	16.4	1.16x	16 to 22.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.3	2	1.15x	1.9 to 2.8	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	21.5	18.7	1.15xSignificant	20.3 to 22.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15	13.9	1.08x	13.9 to 16.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	55.2	51.8	1.07xSignificant	53.2 to 57.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12	11.3	1.06x	11.1 to 12.9	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	3.9	3.7	1.05x	3.4 to 4.4	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.1	18.5	1.03x	17.9 to 20.3	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.4	6.2	1.03x	5.7 to 7.2	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.5	4.4	1.02x	3.9 to 5.2	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.9	4.8	1.02x	4.3 to 5.5	2020-2024
Thyroid	Deaths	0.5	0.5	1x	0.3 to 0.7	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	450.2	453.4	0.99x	444.4 to 456.1	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	4.5	4.6	0.98x	4 to 5.1	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	3.9	4.1	0.95x	3.4 to 4.5	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.2	8.7	0.94x	7.5 to 9.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	27.4	30.2	0.91x	26 to 28.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	13.1	14.5	0.9x	12.1 to 14.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	129.3	143.2	0.9x	126.2 to 132.4	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	5.1	5.7	0.89x	4.5 to 5.8	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.9	6.6	0.89x	5.3 to 6.6	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	5.9	6.6	0.89x	5.3 to 6.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	14.7	17.9	0.82x	13.7 to 15.8	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2.1	2.7	0.78x	1.8 to 2.6	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	17.7	23.8	0.74x	16.6 to 18.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	2.4	3.4	0.71x	2 to 2.8	2020-2024

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 Essex County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,853.4	9,842.6	-41%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.7	75.3	+6%	years
Child mortality	29.8	59.8	-50%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	3.8	6.2	-39%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	77	96.9	-21%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	37.1	28.6	+30%	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.

Formaldehyde14.73 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride3.03 per million
Benzene1.73 per million
Acetaldehyde1.5 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 296 good, 3 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 40, peak 136.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

3,038 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit886
Industrial wastewater discharge548
Small hazardous waste generator419
Air permit holder (minor source)393
Brownfield property181
Gas station (mapped facility)130
Rail grade crossing110
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)63
Large hazardous waste generator57
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)56
TRI reporting facility42
Combined sewer overflow outfall29
Heliport17
Solar power plant16
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)14
Landfill (mapped facility)11
Major air pollution source9
Large greenhouse gas emitter9
Scrapyard (mapped facility)8
Hazardous waste transporter6
Gas power plant5
EPA air quality monitor4
Public airport4
Superfund (NPL) site4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Biomass power plant3
Wind power plant3
Commercial airport2
Crematorium (mapped facility)2
Airfield1
Hydroelectric plant1
Oil-fired 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.

Creese & Cook Tannery (Former), Danvers
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 60.6. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MAD001031574 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Microfab, Inc. (Former), Amesbury
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MAD001409408 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Haverhill Municipal Landfill, Haverhill
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 30.3. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MAD980523336 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Groveland Wells, Groveland
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 40.7. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MAD980732317 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Bostik Manufacturing Plant, Middleton
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $367,767.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000310315 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.6
Union Specialties, Newburyport
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000310379 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Raytheon Co, Andover
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 31,003 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 01810RYTHN350LO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Pci Synthesis, Newburyport
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Dichloromethane, Methanol, Toluene, Epichlorohydrin and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 15,237 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 01950PLYRG9OPPO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Cl Hauthaway & Sons Corp, Lynn
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Cyclohexane, n-Hexane, Triethylamine and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 8,844 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 01905CLHTH638SU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Strem Chemical Inc, Newburyport
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002018799 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Central Metal Finishing Inc, North Andover
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $71,350.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003489715 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Ge Aerospace, Lynn
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Nickel, Cobalt. Reports carcinogens. 1,632 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 01910GNRLL1000W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Union Specialties Inc, Newburyport
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Triethylamine, Certain glycol ethers, N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, Hydrazine and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,615 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 01950NNSPC3MALC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Straumann Usa Llc, Andover
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022830864 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Rousselot Peabody Inc., Peabody
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 63,631 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 01960STMNG227WA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Bostik Manufacturing Plant, Middleton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Cyclohexane, Methanol, Ethylene glycol and 4 more. 49,810 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 01949BSTKDBOSTO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Vicor Corp, Andover
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $40,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001956090 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Straumann Manufacturing Inc, Andover
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane. 33,793 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 0181WSTRMN6MINU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Medtronic Inc, Danvers
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane. 33,571 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 01923MDTRN37ACH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Veranova L.P., North Andover
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methyl isobutyl ketone, Dichloromethane, Methanol, Ethylbenzene. Reports carcinogens. 351 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 01845PHRMC70FLA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Hero Coatings Inc., Newburyport
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene. 25,669 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 01950HRCTN13MAL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Fxi Inc. - Newburyport, Newburyport
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene diisocyanate (mixed isomers). Reports carcinogens. 273 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 01950CRSTH122PA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Icp Construction, Andover
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Zinc compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region). 17,971 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 01810CLFRN150DA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Itw Performance Polymers, Danvers
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methyl methacrylate, Benzoyl peroxide, Nonylphenol, Diisocyanates. 11,901 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 01923DVCNC30END (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Cl Hauthaway & Sons, Lynn
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000310164 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6

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 Essex County

Massachusetts 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 Essex County, and their findings.
Massachusetts vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Massachusetts health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Massachusetts 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.
Massachusetts 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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