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Norfolk County, Massachusetts: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Norfolk County is 131.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 2,731 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (817), Industrial wastewater discharge (474), Small hazardous waste generator (415). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 42.1565, -71.2029.

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 Norfolk County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	New cases	15.5	13	1.19xSignificant	14.3 to 16.9	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5.3	4.6	1.15xSignificant	4.7 to 6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.3	2	1.15x	1.9 to 2.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.1	18.5	1.14xSignificant	19.8 to 22.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.8	13.9	1.14xSignificant	14.7 to 17	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	3	2.7	1.11x	2.5 to 3.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	56.8	51.8	1.1xSignificant	54.7 to 59	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.9	11.3	1.05x	10.9 to 12.9	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	19.6	18.7	1.05x	18.3 to 20.9	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6.9	6.6	1.05x	6.2 to 7.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	466.1	453.4	1.03xSignificant	459.8 to 472.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.9	14.5	1.03x	13.8 to 16.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.8	8.7	1.01x	8 to 9.7	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.4	4.4	1x	3.8 to 5.1	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	3.7	3.7	1x	3.2 to 4.3	2020-2024
Thyroid	Deaths	0.5	0.5	1x	0.3 to 0.8	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	3.9	4.1	0.95x	3.4 to 4.5	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.7	6.2	0.92x	5 to 6.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.4	4.8	0.92x	3.8 to 5	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	131.2	143.2	0.92x	128 to 134.5	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	5.2	5.7	0.91x	4.6 to 5.9	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	14.9	16.4	0.91x	12 to 18.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	15.9	17.9	0.89x	14.8 to 17.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	26.5	30.2	0.88x	25.1 to 28	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	2.9	3.4	0.85x	2.4 to 3.4	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.5	6.6	0.83x	4.9 to 6.2	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	19.3	23.8	0.81x	18 to 20.6	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 Norfolk County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	4,629.1	9,842.6	-53%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	81.2	75.3	+8%	years
Child mortality	21.2	59.8	-65%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	2.8	6.2	-55%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	63.1	96.9	-35%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	25.2	28.6	-12%	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.

Formaldehyde14.76 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride3.02 per million
Benzene1.61 per million
Acetaldehyde1.41 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 308 good, 2 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 39, peak 126.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

2,731 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit817
Industrial wastewater discharge474
Small hazardous waste generator415
Air permit holder (minor source)386
Gas station (mapped facility)173
Rail grade crossing123
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)116
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)44
Large hazardous waste generator34
TRI reporting facility32
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)26
Brownfield property20
Solar power plant17
Major air pollution source11
Gas power plant7
Large greenhouse gas emitter6
Hazardous waste transporter6
Landfill (mapped facility)5
Superfund (NPL) site4
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
EPA air quality monitor2
Heliport2
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Crematorium (mapped facility)1
Battery storage 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.

South Weymouth Naval Air Station, Weymouth
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MA2170022022 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Baird & McGuire, Holbrook
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 66.4. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MAD001041987 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Blackburn and Union Privileges, Walpole
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MAD982191363 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
BJAT LLC, Franklin
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 41.9. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MAN000106144 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Capstan Atlantic, Wrentham
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $2,760.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000310752 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.7
Calpine Fore River Energy Center Llc, Weymouth
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Polycyclic aromatic compounds, n-Hexane, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 96,704 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 02191FRRVR9BRID (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Citgo Petroleum Corp, Braintree
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Benzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 26,760 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 02184CTGPT385QU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Garelick Farms Milk Production Facility, Franklin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000310583 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.1
E. Parrella Co. Inc., Medway
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 2,150 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 02053PRRLL36ALD (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Anchor Holbrook, Holbrook
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001958784 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Clean Harbors Storage & Treatment Facility, Braintree
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001940311 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Braintree Electric Light Department, Braintree
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Ethylbenzene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens. 843 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 0218WBRNTR15PTT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Certainteed Llc, Norwood
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Copper compounds, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 811 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 02062BRDNC1077P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Tilley Distribution Inc., Walpole
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Methanol, Xylene (mixed isomers), N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 746 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 02081CLLHN18IND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Flexcon Industries, Randolph
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers). 53,783 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 0236WFLXCN3PNDS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Vacumet Corp. Papers Division, Franklin
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001942391 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Wellesley College, Wellesley
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042258268 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Clean Harbors Of Braintree Inc., Braintree
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol, N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, Lead, Polychlorinated biphenyls and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 340 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 02184CLNHR385QU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Wollaston Alloys, Braintree
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Copper, Diisocyanates. Reports carcinogens. 303 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 02184WLLST205WO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Atlantic Sintered Inc, Wrentham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 197 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 02093TLNTC10CUS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Epco (E Parrella Co), Medway
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024518636 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Cyn Oil, Stoughton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Ethylene glycol, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Lead compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 104 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 0207WCYNLX1771W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Vacumet Corp. Papers Division, Franklin
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001942391 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Wellesley College, Wellesley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042258268 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Sika Corp, Canton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Diisononyl Phthalates (DINP), Antimony And Antimony Compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds. 7,973 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 02021SRNFL100DA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6

Correctional facilities

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

Weymouth Animal Detention Center, Weymouth
EPA FRS registry ID
110001997858
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Norfolk 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 Norfolk 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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