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Dorchester County, Maryland: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Dorchester County is 161.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 401 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (145), Air permit holder (minor source) (82), Rail grade crossing (50). 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: 38.4603, -76.0724.

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 Dorchester County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	28.3	18.7	1.51xSignificant	22 to 36	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	19.5	13	1.5xSignificant	13.1 to 27.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	24.8	17.9	1.39xSignificant	18.6 to 32.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	29.6	23.8	1.24x	22.8 to 38.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	37	30.2	1.23x	30 to 45.5	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	161.4	143.2	1.13xSignificant	145.8 to 178.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	505.2	453.4	1.11xSignificant	476.1 to 535.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	57.5	51.8	1.11x	48.8 to 67.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.6	8.7	1.1x	6.1 to 14.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.8	13.9	0.99x	9.6 to 19.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.5	14.5	0.86x	8 to 18.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	8.7	11.3	0.77x	5.6 to 13.3	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	11.3	18.5	0.61x	7.5 to 16.7	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 Dorchester County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,186.6	9,842.6	+24%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.2	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	78.2	59.8	+31%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	9.2	6.2	+48%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	109.9	96.9	+13%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	57.7	28.6	+102%	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.

Formaldehyde17.43 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.99 per million
Acetaldehyde1.55 per million
Benzene1.03 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 314 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 39, peak 84.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit145
Air permit holder (minor source)82
Rail grade crossing50
Industrial wastewater discharge48
Gas station (mapped facility)18
Small hazardous waste generator15
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)8
TRI reporting facility5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Public airport4
Large hazardous waste generator3
Solar power plant3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
EPA air quality monitor2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Heliport1
Oil-fired power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1

Highest-severity records

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

Valley Proteins Inc-Linkwood Facility, Linkwood
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $50,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000340685 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Darling Ingredients Inc.- Linkwood Facility, Linkwood
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Chlorine dioxide, Chlorine, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) and 1 more. 9,020,975 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 21835STRNSRFD1X (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Valley Proteins Inc-Linkwood Facility, Linkwood
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $50,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000340685 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Hurlock, Town Of, Hurlock
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002044056 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Cambridge Wwtf, Cambridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003515866 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Vienna Generating Station, Vienna
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000585260 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Valley Proteins Inc-Linkwood Facility, Linkwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $50,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000340685 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Vienna Generating Station, Vienna
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000585260 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Valley Proteins Inc-Linkwood Facility, Linkwood
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $50,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000340685 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Vienna Generating Station, Vienna
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene. Reports carcinogens. 2 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 21869VNNPWCHAPE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9
Vienna Generating Station, Vienna
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000585260 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Amick Farms Llc, Hurlock
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Peracetic acid, Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 21643CNGRBBOX34 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Yacht Maintenance Company, Cambridge
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003513216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Yacht Maintenance Company, Cambridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003513216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Soft & Salty Seafood, Cambridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006639147 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Russell Paving Co, Inc., East New Market
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058359299 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Beaver Run Mobile Home Park, Linkwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064575730 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Bromwell'S Adventure Section I, Madison
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064629344 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Vienna Operations, Vienna
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1564 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4.2
Allen Family Foods, Hurlock
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000340300 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Hurlock Feed Mill/Hatchery, Hurlock
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000340319 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Protenergy Natural Foods, Cambridge
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000554454 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Jones Boatyard & Marina, Fishing Creek
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044263356 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Beulah Sanitary Landfill, Hurlock
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055100929 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Horn Point
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 240190004 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 3.7

Correctional facilities

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

County Jail, Cambridge
EPA FRS registry ID
110019872431
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Dorchester 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 Dorchester 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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