MD / county FIPS 24021 / county research

Frederick County, Maryland: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Frederick County is 124.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Melanoma of the skin deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,214 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (409), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (252), Rail grade crossing (140). 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: 39.4697, -77.3678.

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Frederick County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	3	2	1.5xSignificant	2.2 to 4	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	33.6	23.8	1.41xSignificant	30.8 to 36.6	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	17.4	13	1.34xSignificant	15.3 to 19.7	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	20.9	16.4	1.27x	15.8 to 27.2	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.5	4.1	1.1x	3.5 to 5.7	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.8	6.2	1.1x	5.5 to 8.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.9	14.5	1.1x	13.9 to 18	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.3	18.7	1.09x	18.1 to 22.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	472.6	453.4	1.04xSignificant	462 to 483.4	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	3.8	3.7	1.03x	2.9 to 4.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	5.8	5.7	1.02x	4.6 to 7.1	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	6.7	6.6	1.02x	5.5 to 8.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18	17.9	1.01x	16 to 20.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.1	18.5	0.98x	16.1 to 20.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.1	6.6	0.92x	5 to 7.5	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.4	4.8	0.92x	3.4 to 5.6	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	4.2	4.6	0.91x	3.3 to 5.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	46.6	51.8	0.9x	43.4 to 50.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.5	13.9	0.9x	10.9 to 14.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	124.8	143.2	0.87x	119.4 to 130.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	25.7	30.2	0.85x	23.3 to 28.3	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	2.2	2.7	0.81x	1.5 to 3.1	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	9.2	11.3	0.81x	7.8 to 10.8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	2.7	3.4	0.79x	2 to 3.7	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.9	8.7	0.79x	5.7 to 8.3	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	3.3	4.4	0.75x	2.5 to 4.3	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 Frederick County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,696.6	9,842.6	-42%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	80	75.3	+6%	years
Child mortality	35.1	59.8	-41%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	4.1	6.2	-34%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	66.3	96.9	-32%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	24.2	28.6	-16%	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.

Formaldehyde19.77 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde2.04 per million
Benzene1.6 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 237 days: 203 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 41, peak 93.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,214 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

Air permit holder (minor source)409
NPDES wastewater discharge permit252
Rail grade crossing140
Gas station (mapped facility)99
Industrial wastewater discharge86
Small hazardous waste generator70
Large hazardous waste generator42
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)38
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)12
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)11
Public airport9
TRI reporting facility8
Brownfield property7
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)7
Solar power plant6
Major air pollution source5
Hazardous waste transporter4
Heliport3
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

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

Fort Detrick Area B Ground Water, Fort Detrick
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 49.5. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MDD985397249 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Canam Steel Corp Point Of Rocks Plant, Point Of Rocks
Major air pollution source. Penalties $429,402.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000340453 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Canam Steel Corp Point Of Rocks Plant, Point Of Rocks
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $429,402.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000340453 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Canam Steel Corp Point Of Rocks Plant, Point Of Rocks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $429,402.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000340453 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
City Of Frederick Wastewater Treatment Plant-2012, Frederick
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $9,686.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000557166 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Brunswick Wwtp, Brunswick
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028107082 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Rinker Materials Hydro Conduit- Frederick, Frederick
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110019905110 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Town Of Emmitsburg, Emmitsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,591.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009916341 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Lafarge Frederick Ready Mix, Frederick
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Mercury compounds, Lead compounds. 571 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2170WLFRGF1ESUT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
Daniel G. Schuster, Inc. - Frederick Plant, Frederick
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $147,497.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009681433 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Rinker Materials Hydro Conduit, Frederick
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 21701RNKRM1751M (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
Schuster Concrete Ready Mix Llc-South St, Frederick
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nickel compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region). Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 2170WSCHST53EAS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Mount Saint Marys College, Emmitsburg
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002453078 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Mount Saint Marys College, Emmitsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002453078 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Fountaindale Wwtp, Middletown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008484416 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Mill Bottom Wwtp, Mount Airy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011128644 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Oldcastle Lawn & Garden - Buckeystown, Frederick
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063872901 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Griffith Energy Services Inc Frederick Bulk Plant, Frederick
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Cyclohexane, Ethylbenzene, Benzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 21701GRFFT200ES (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
American Computer Development Inc (Dba Acdi), Frederick
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 21703PTPSC5350P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Rinker Frederick Pipe, Frederick
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 2170WRNKRF1751M (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Griffith Energy Services Inc Frederick Bulk Plant, Frederick
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000340337 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Frederick Community College, Frederick
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $2,840.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003502442 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Daneri Residence, Middletown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032593012 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Tayllyn Ridge Pool, Frederick
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070362022 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Mccormick Paint Works Co, Frederick
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000340346 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4

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 Frederick 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 Frederick 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.

Scan an address in Frederick County View on the heat map All Maryland counties