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Somerset County, Maryland: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Somerset County is 180.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 293 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (141), Air permit holder (minor source) (59), Rail grade crossing (45). One correctional facility operates in the county, at least one with health-based drinking water violations on record. 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: 38.1054, -75.6991.

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 Somerset County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	76	51.8	1.47xSignificant	62.9 to 91.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	40.6	30.2	1.34xSignificant	31.2 to 52.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	14.9	11.3	1.32x	9.3 to 22.8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	180.5	143.2	1.26xSignificant	159.7 to 203.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	16.9	13.9	1.22x	11.1 to 24.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	21.3	18.7	1.14x	14.7 to 30.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.4	18.5	1.1x	13.6 to 29.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	482.3	453.4	1.06x	447.6 to 519.1	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23	23.8	0.97x	15.9 to 32.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13.9	14.5	0.96x	8.5 to 21.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	13.5	17.9	0.75x	8 to 21.4	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 Somerset County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,152.2	9,842.6	+3%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	59.3	59.8	-1%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	12.6	6.2	+104%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	93	96.9	-4%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	61.7	28.6	+116%	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.

Formaldehyde15.66 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.99 per million
Acetaldehyde1.29 per million
Benzene0.87 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

No EPA air quality monitor reports daily AQI for this county.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit141
Air permit holder (minor source)59
Rail grade crossing45
Industrial wastewater discharge11
Gas station (mapped facility)9
Small hazardous waste generator8
Brownfield property3
Solar power plant3
Major air pollution source2
Public airport2
Oil-fired power plant2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Biomass power plant1
TRI reporting facility1
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.

Crisfield Wwtp, Crisfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $62,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000761774 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Pocomoke City Wastewater Treatment Facility, Pocomoke City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000866983 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Princess Anne Wwtp, Princess Anne
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008488145 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Mountaire Farms Inc Princess Anne Feed Mill, Westover
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000585251 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Eastern Correctional Institute, Westover
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009914646 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Eastern Correctional Institute, Westover
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009914646 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Reynolds Excavating, Inc, 30939 Cedar Drive
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011135173 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Vann-Ballantine Mine, Princess Anne
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071236594 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Crisfield, Crisfield
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 1563 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Smith Island, Ewell
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 6391 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Kuzzens Packing, Westover
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064597271 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Tylerton Wwtp, Tylerton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006638727 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Conectiv Delmarva - Crisfield, Crisfield
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110019889085 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Carvel Hall, Crisfield
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003509640 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
H & H Market T/A Brown Derby Market And Deli, Princess Anne
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038747899 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Cato Oil Princess Anne Site, Princess Anne
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038762416 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Eastern Correctional Institute, Westover
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009914646 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Sha Bridge #1901201, Princess Anne
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070541198 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Mountaire Farms Inc-Princess Anne Feed Mill, Westover
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 21853HDSNFUSRTE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Ewell Wwtp, Ewell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006639726 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Pocomoke City Wwtp, Pocomoke City
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MD0022551: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.7
Princess Anne Wwtp, Princess Anne
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit MD0020656: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.7
Eastern Correctional Institute, Westover
Biomass power plant.
Record ID 10693 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 2.5
Mountaire Farms Inc Princess Anne Feed Mill, Westover
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000585251 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Mountaire Farms Inc Princess Anne Feed Mill, Westover
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000585251 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5

Correctional facilities

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

Eastern Correctional Institute, Westover
EPA FRS registry ID
110009914646
Water system
MD0190013
Health-based violations
2 all time, 1 in 5 years
All violations
5
Contaminants cited
Coliform (TCR), LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS
Wastewater permit
Yes, 4 quarters in noncompliance
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Somerset 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 Somerset 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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