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Worcester County, Maryland: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Worcester County is 140.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 473 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (227), Air permit holder (minor source) (71), Rail grade crossing (64). 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: 38.2228, -75.3636.

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 Worcester County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	52.1	23.8	2.19xSignificant	44.8 to 60.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.6	4.8	1.17x	3.6 to 8.7	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.3	4.6	1.15x	3.2 to 8.5	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7.5	6.6	1.14x	4.8 to 11.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.7	13.9	1.13x	12.4 to 19.9	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.9	4.4	1.11x	2.7 to 8.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.2	6.6	1.09x	5 to 10.4	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	490.3	453.4	1.08xSignificant	468.2 to 513.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.6	18.7	1.05x	15.7 to 24.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.8	8.7	1.01x	6.2 to 12.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	51.4	51.8	0.99x	45.5 to 58.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.2	11.3	0.99x	8.5 to 14.7	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.1	6.2	0.98x	3.3 to 10.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	140.7	143.2	0.98x	129.9 to 152.2	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	3.6	3.7	0.97x	2.2 to 6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.3	3.4	0.97x	1.7 to 5.9	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	12.2	13	0.94x	8 to 17.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.1	30.2	0.93x	23.8 to 33.2	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	3.8	4.1	0.93x	2.3 to 6.2	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	13.1	14.5	0.9x	9.7 to 17.6	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.5	18.5	0.84x	12 to 19.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	14.3	17.9	0.8x	10.5 to 19.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	4.3	5.7	0.75x	2.8 to 6.8	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 Worcester County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,635	9,842.6	-22%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.5	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	30.3	59.8	-49%	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	90.3	96.9	-7%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	32	28.6	+12%	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.

Formaldehyde14.78 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.99 per million
Acetaldehyde1.17 per million
Benzene0.89 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit227
Air permit holder (minor source)71
Rail grade crossing64
Gas station (mapped facility)30
Industrial wastewater discharge22
Small hazardous waste generator16
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)10
Large hazardous waste generator7
Public airport5
Brownfield property5
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Heliport2
Solar power plant2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Oil-fired 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.

Ocean City Wastewater Treatment Plant, Ocean City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000577073 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Ocean Pines Wwtp, Berlin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009915798 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Tyson Foods Inc Feed Mill Snow Hill, Snow Hill
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000340694 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Snow Hill Wwtp, Snow Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009697765 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Paul M. Jones Lumber Co., Inc., Snow Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055101562 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Berlin, Berlin
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 6565 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Central Landfill Facility, Newark
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110062666459 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Mariner'S Country Downs Wwtf, Berlin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006628747 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Millville Lumber Company, Inc., Snow Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110019893132 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Deer Run Campground, Recreation Ctr. And Golf Course Complex, Berlin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041245417 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Ocean City Public Works Complex, Ocean City
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003536665 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ocean City Public Works Complex, Ocean City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003536665 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Wal-Mart Store No 2560, Berlin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003547056 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Lighthouse Sound Development, Bishopville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011132283 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Frontier Town, Berlin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012311729 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Worcester County Central Municipal Landfill, Newark
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071723319 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Kelly Foods Corporation, Berlin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001769015 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Fort Whaley Campground-Wtp 1 - Well 1, Whaleyville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046335051 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Delmarva Mobile Home Park-Wtp Well 1 North & 2 South, Ocean City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110050495843 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Snow Hill Water Supply System, Snow Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055173672 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Pocomoke Armory Site, Pocomoke City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002476614 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Campbell'S Soup Property, Pocomoke City
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038743009 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Byrd Park - Former Snow Hill Landfill, Snow Hill
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038751222 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tri-State Oil Co., Snow Hill
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038753471 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Byrd Park, Snow Hill
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060532428 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) 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 Worcester 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 Worcester 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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