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Knox County, Maine: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Knox County is 153.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Esophagus deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 255 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (76), Brownfield property (31), Rail grade crossing (31). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 44.1416, -69.1943.

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 Knox County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	8.5	4.6	1.85xSignificant	5.7 to 12.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	6.5	3.7	1.76xSignificant	4.2 to 10.2	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	31.2	18.7	1.67xSignificant	25.3 to 38.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	35.9	23.8	1.51xSignificant	28.8 to 44.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	25.5	18.5	1.38xSignificant	19.8 to 32.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	17.9	14.5	1.23x	13.1 to 24	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.9	4.8	1.23x	3.5 to 9.8	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	492.8	453.4	1.09xSignificant	467.8 to 519	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7.1	6.6	1.08x	4.5 to 11	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	153.3	143.2	1.07x	140.6 to 167.1	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	14.8	13.9	1.06x	11 to 19.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.7	11.3	1.04x	8.6 to 16.1	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	4.2	4.1	1.02x	2.3 to 7.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.9	8.7	1.02x	5.8 to 13.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.2	17.9	1.02x	13.6 to 24.1	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.3	6.2	1.02x	3.4 to 10.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.5	5.7	0.96x	3.5 to 8.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	48.8	51.8	0.94x	42 to 56.7	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11.7	13	0.9x	7.4 to 17.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	27.1	30.2	0.9x	22.2 to 33.2	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	4.4	6.6	0.67x	2.4 to 7.8	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 Knox County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,638.4	9,842.6	-22%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.9	75.3	+5%	years
Child mortality	49	59.8	-18%	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	123.9	96.9	+28%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	40.9	28.6	+43%	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.

Formaldehyde10.04 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride3.05 per million
Acetaldehyde1.08 per million
Benzene1.03 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 359 days: 351 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 33, peak 77.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit76
Brownfield property31
Rail grade crossing31
Air permit holder (minor source)19
Small hazardous waste generator19
Gas station (mapped facility)17
Industrial wastewater discharge15
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)8
Combined sewer overflow outfall5
TRI reporting facility5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Large hazardous waste generator4
Heliport4
Major air pollution source3
Public airport3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Hazardous waste transporter2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Wind power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)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.

North End Composites, Rockland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 97,997 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 04841NRTHN23MER (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Dragon Products Co, Thomaston
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Zinc compounds, Naphthalene, Manganese And Manganese Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 27,112 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 04861DRGNPUSROU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Dragon Cement, Thomaston
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000581521 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Fisher Engineering, Rockland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Nickel compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 955 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 04841FSHRN50GOR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Dragon Cement, Thomaston
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000581521 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Fmc Biopolymer Food Ingredients, Rockland
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000581512 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Dragon Cement, Thomaston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000581521 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Camden Wastewater Treatment Facility, Camden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $25,511.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009913111 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
North End Composites, Rockland
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064435106 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
International N&H Usa Inc., Rockland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Nitric acid, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene. 3,914 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 04841FMCCRCROCK (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
Dragon Cement, Thomaston
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000581521 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Pike Industries Inc-Washington, Washington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 8 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 0457WMRRNRRT221 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Fisher Engineering, Rockland
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002088507 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Fmc Biopolymer Food Ingredients, Rockland
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000581512 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Rockland Wastewater Treatment Facility, Rockland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002052206 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Pike Industries Inc - Washington, Washington
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007272986 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.2
Fmc Biopolymer Food Ingredients, Rockland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000581512 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Knox Machine Company, Warren
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012274822 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Rockland Wwtf, Rockland
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ME0100595:002B (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Rockland Wwtf, Rockland
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ME0100595:004 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Rockland Wwtf, Rockland
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ME0100595:006 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Rockland Wwtf, Rockland
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ME0100595:008 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Rockland Wwtf, Rockland
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ME0100595:009 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Fmc Biopolymer Food Ingredients, Rockland
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000581512 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
North End Composites, Rockland
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064435106 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5

Correctional facilities

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

Maine State Prison At Warren, Warren
EPA FRS registry ID
110021175565
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Knox 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 Knox 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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