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Franklin County, Maine: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Franklin County is 150.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 185 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (38), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (31), Rail grade crossing (28). 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: 45.0733, -70.4677.

How this county ranks in Maine

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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 Franklin County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	8	4.6	1.74xSignificant	4.9 to 13.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	28.5	18.7	1.52xSignificant	22 to 36.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	38.4	30.2	1.27xSignificant	31.1 to 47.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	58.2	51.8	1.12x	49.1 to 68.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.6	11.3	1.12x	8.6 to 18.2	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	150.3	143.2	1.05x	134.8 to 167.3	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.7	17.9	1.04x	12.8 to 26.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.2	13.9	1.02x	9.8 to 20.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	456.7	453.4	1.01x	428 to 487.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.7	18.5	0.96x	12.2 to 25.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.8	8.7	0.9x	4.1 to 13.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.4	14.5	0.86x	8.1 to 18.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	19.5	23.8	0.82x	13.9 to 27	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 Franklin County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,716.3	9,842.6	-1%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.2	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	63.6	59.8	+6%	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	114.5	96.9	+18%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	37.7	28.6	+32%	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.

Formaldehyde10.03 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.99 per million
Acetaldehyde1.18 per million
Benzene0.9 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge38
NPDES wastewater discharge permit31
Rail grade crossing28
Gas station (mapped facility)25
Air permit holder (minor source)16
Brownfield property11
Public airport6
Small hazardous waste generator6
Major air pollution source5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Airfield2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Biomass power plant2
Hydroelectric plant2
Wind power plant2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Gas power plant1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

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

Pixelle Specialty Solutions, Jay
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Ammonia, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Hydrogen sulfide and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 442,413 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 04239NTRNTRILEY (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Pike Industries Inc. - Phillips, Phillips
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene. Reports carcinogens. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 0496WPKNDS3GRAV (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.7
Pike Industries, Inc. - Phillips, Phillips
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070814052 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Wausau Paper Otis Mill, Jay
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000314455 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Mainehealth Dba Franklin Memorial Hospital, Farmington
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $20,150.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001825972 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Verso Paper - Androscoggin Mill, Jay
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008053587 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Stratton Lumber Inc, Stratton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013899406 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Reenergy Boimass To Energy Plant, Stratton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028023877 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Pixelle Androscoggin, Jay
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063588844 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Farmington Wastewater Treatment Facility, Farmington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009912915 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Androscoggin Energy Center, Jay
Gas power plant.
Record ID 55031 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.1
Joneco, Kingfield
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038757182 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Western Maine Development Group, Wilton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040821475 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Primary School, Wilton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043242988 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Madrid Store & Poacher'S Paradise, Madrid
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071963729 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Wilton Tannery, Wilton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967757 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Forster Mill, Wilton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970526 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Alder Stream Ii, Eustis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973554 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lowelltown Lease Site, Lowelltown Township
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071975079 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Safe Voices, Farmington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071975355 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Hydraulic Oil Spill, Lowelltown
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978253 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ranco Lot, Eustis
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983195 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Mainehealth Dba Franklin Memorial Hospital, Farmington
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $20,150.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001825972 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Verso Paper - Androscoggin Mill, Jay
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008053587 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Wilton Wastewater Treatment Facility, Wilton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009912755 (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 Franklin County

Maine 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 Franklin County, and their findings.
Maine vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Maine health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Maine 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.
Maine 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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