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Garrett County, Maryland: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Garrett County is 135.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 391 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (106), Industrial wastewater discharge (89), Air permit holder (minor source) (88). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 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: 39.4623, -79.2948.

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 Garrett County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	Deaths	9.1	5.7	1.6x	5.2 to 15.2	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	31.3	23.8	1.32x	23.7 to 40.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12	11.3	1.06x	7.6 to 18.4	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	13.7	13	1.05x	8.2 to 21.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.9	13.9	1x	9.2 to 20.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	135.6	143.2	0.95x	120.7 to 152.2	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	405.3	453.4	0.89x	377.8 to 434.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	26.7	30.2	0.88x	20.5 to 34.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	42.5	51.8	0.82x	34.7 to 52	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	11.5	14.5	0.79x	7.4 to 17.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	12.3	17.9	0.69x	8 to 18.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	12.7	18.7	0.68x	8.4 to 18.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	12.5	18.5	0.68x	7.8 to 19.1	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 Garrett County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,313.8	9,842.6	-16%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.8	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	56.6	59.8	-5%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	n/a	6.2	n/a	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	88	96.9	-9%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	25.5	28.6	-11%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde13.67 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.79 per million
Acetaldehyde1.19 per million
Benzene1.04 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 318 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 39, peak 80.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit106
Industrial wastewater discharge89
Air permit holder (minor source)88
Gas station (mapped facility)23
Rail grade crossing18
Small hazardous waste generator17
Large hazardous waste generator15
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)9
Wind power plant5
Public airport4
Heliport3
Major air pollution source2
Solar power plant2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Hydroelectric plant1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Deep Creek Lake Wwtp, Oakland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009915486 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Casselman Mine, Grantsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038457586 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Mettiki Coal Llc, Oakland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Lead And Lead Compounds, Manganese compounds, Mercury compounds. 552 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 21550MTTKC293TA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
Mettiki Coal Llc, Oakland
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006039054 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Accident Wwtp, Accident
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $16,885.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006631564 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Sha - Lake Louise, Grantsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008481972 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Oakland Wwtp, Oakland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009916225 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Mettiki Coal Llc, Oakland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006039054 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Superior Sand Company, Friendsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110019866956 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Keystone Lime Sang Run Hot Mix Plant, Friendsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070231083 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Alternative Lifecycles Llc, Grantsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071260680 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Ours Auto Salvage, Oakland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110019902550 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Casselman Mine, Grantsville
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110038457586 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Piney Run, Grantsville
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 240230002 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 3.9
Mettiki Coal Llc, Oakland
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006039054 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Grantsville Wwtp, Grantsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009916261 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Superior Sand Company, Friendsville
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110019866956 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Bakerstown Woodyard, Bloomington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070555739 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Granstsville Wtp, Grantsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008481605 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Tetco - Accident, Accident
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022382802 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Double M Recycling, Swanton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069424992 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Garrett Container Systems Inc, Accident
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070248997 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Friendsville Wwtp, Friendsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008481650 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Deep Creek Ready Mix, Grantsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015808795 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Tetco - Accident, Accident
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022382802 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 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 Garrett 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 Garrett 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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