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Cecil County, Maryland: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Cecil County is 168.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Esophagus deaths at 2 times the U.S. rate and Kidney & renal pelvis deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 657 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (191), Air permit holder (minor source) (147), Industrial wastewater discharge (87). 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: 39.5408, -75.8743.

How this county ranks in Maryland

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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 Cecil County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	Deaths	7.3	3.7	1.97xSignificant	5.4 to 9.8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	5.6	3.4	1.65xSignificant	3.9 to 7.9	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	12.9	8.7	1.48xSignificant	10.3 to 16.1	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	34.1	23.8	1.43xSignificant	29.6 to 39.3	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	6.5	4.6	1.41xSignificant	4.7 to 8.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41.4	30.2	1.37xSignificant	36.6 to 46.6	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.9	6.6	1.35xSignificant	6.7 to 11.5	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	5.5	4.1	1.34x	3.8 to 7.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	14.2	11.3	1.26xSignificant	11.4 to 17.4	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	23.4	18.7	1.25xSignificant	19.8 to 27.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	7	5.7	1.23x	5.1 to 9.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	63.4	51.8	1.22xSignificant	57.6 to 69.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	168.2	143.2	1.17xSignificant	158.2 to 178.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.6	4.8	1.17x	3.9 to 7.9	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	15.5	13.9	1.12x	12.6 to 18.9	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.6	6.2	1.06x	4.7 to 9.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.9	17.9	1.06x	15.6 to 22.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	477.6	453.4	1.05xSignificant	460.5 to 495.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.1	14.5	0.97x	11.2 to 17.6	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.1	4.4	0.93x	2.7 to 6	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	5.7	6.6	0.86x	4 to 8	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	10.8	13	0.83x	8.2 to 14	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.3	18.5	0.83x	12.3 to 18.7	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 Cecil County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,662.4	9,842.6	+18%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.7	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	58.4	59.8	-2%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.4	6.2	+4%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	141.7	96.9	+46%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	90.3	28.6	+216%	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.

Formaldehyde18.83 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.99 per million
Acetaldehyde1.83 per million
Benzene1.44 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 361 days: 288 good, 2 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 41, peak 129.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit191
Air permit holder (minor source)147
Industrial wastewater discharge87
Gas station (mapped facility)52
Small hazardous waste generator41
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)27
Large hazardous waste generator26
Rail grade crossing13
Hazardous waste transporter10
Scrapyard (mapped facility)7
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)6
Major air pollution source5
Public airport5
Brownfield property5
Landfill (mapped facility)5
Superfund (NPL) site5
TRI reporting facility5
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)4
Solar power plant4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Heliport2
Gas power plant2
EPA air quality monitor1

Highest-severity records

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

Spectron, Inc., Elkton
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 51.4. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MDD000218008 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Woodlawn County Landfill, Woodlawn
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 48.1. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MDD980504344 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Sand, Gravel and Stone, Elkton
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 41.1. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MDD980705164 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Ordnance Products, Inc., Cecil County
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 32.2. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MDD982364341 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Dwyer Property Ground Water Plume, Elkton
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MDD985366756 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Composite & Metal Products Usa Inc Dba Composites Usa, North East
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Phenol, Formaldehyde. Reports carcinogens. 7,985 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 21901CMPSTONEPE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Terumo Medical Corp, Elkton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Cyclohexane, Methanol, Diisocyanates. 231,730 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 21921TRMMD950EL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Terumo Medical Corporation, Elkton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000340747 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Perryville Wastewater Treatment Plant, Perryville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000726849 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Elkton Wwtp, Elkton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $96,342.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000732850 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Northeast River Advanced Wwtp, Charlestown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001123506 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
W L Gore & Associates Inc, Elkton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, Diisocyanates. 5,794 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 21922WLGRS1320A (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.9
Colonial Metals Inc, Elkton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chlorine, Nickel compounds, Nickel And Nickel Compounds. Reports carcinogens. 26 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 21921CLNLM505BL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
W L Gore & Associates Inc, Elkton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038161093 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Quikrete - Perryville Md Plant, Perryville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 5 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2190WQKRTP7MUNT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
W.L. Gore & Associates- Lovett 1, Elkton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058274264 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.7
Maybelle Manor Mobile Home Park, Conowingo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006642972 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Rising Sun Town Of Wwtp, Rising Sun
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009024910 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Conowingo Mobile Home Park, Conowingo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010704318 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Colonial Metals Inc - Triumph Industrial Park Bldg 20, Elkton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000340710 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Origin Baltimore Recycling, Llc - Elkton, Elkton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003522876 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Forest Green Court Mobile Home Park-Wtp Well 3 & 8, Elkton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006641946 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Stancil'S, Inc. Furnace Bay Mine, Perryville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006642080 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Two Rivers Yacht Basin, Chesapeake City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006643329 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Woodlawn Mobile Home Park Wwtp, Port Deposit
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006744363 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3

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 Cecil County

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