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Piscataquis County, Maine: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Piscataquis County is 165.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 232 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (70), Brownfield property (42), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (27). 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: 45.792, -69.2726.

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 Piscataquis County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	45.3	18.7	2.42xSignificant	34.7 to 59	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	89.2	51.8	1.72xSignificant	75.3 to 106	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	18.9	13	1.45x	10.3 to 31.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.4	17.9	1.31x	15.4 to 34.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	39.3	30.2	1.3x	29.9 to 51.7	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	534.5	453.4	1.18xSignificant	494.4 to 577.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	165.4	143.2	1.16xSignificant	144.8 to 188.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.3	18.5	1.1x	13.6 to 30.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.9	13.9	1.07x	9.5 to 23.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.6	11.3	0.85x	5.2 to 17.3	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	18.6	23.8	0.78x	11.1 to 29.7	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 Piscataquis County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,532.4	9,842.6	-3%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.4	75.3	+0%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	130.3	96.9	+34%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	54.3	28.6	+90%	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.

Formaldehyde9.2 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride3.02 per million
Acetaldehyde1.09 per million
Benzene0.78 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing70
Brownfield property42
NPDES wastewater discharge permit27
Industrial wastewater discharge21
Gas station (mapped facility)19
Air permit holder (minor source)16
Airfield8
Public airport8
Small hazardous waste generator5
Landfill (mapped facility)5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Combined sewer overflow outfall3
Heliport3
Large hazardous waste generator1
Solar power plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Milo Wastewater Treatment Facility, Milo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006649010 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Milo Wd Wwtf, Milo
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ME0100439:001 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Milo Wd Wwtf, Milo
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ME0100439:002 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Dover-Foxcroft Wwtf, Dover-Foxcroft
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ME0100501:001 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Guilford-Sangerville Wastewatertreatment Facility, Guilford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039674769 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Gallop Power Biomass Electric Generating Facility, Greenville Junction
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010377519 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Maine Wood Concepts, Guilford
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021131595 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Moosehead Manufacturing, Dover Foxcroft
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038379260 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Downtown Milo- Saviolakis, Milo
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038737089 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Brown'S Mill, Dover-Foxcroft
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038763512 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Downtown Milo- Ettinger Property, Milo
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038763576 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Downtown Milo- Haley, Milo
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038763585 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Downtown Milo- Robshaw, Milo
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038763594 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Downtown Milo- Rodriguez, Milo
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038763601 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Downtown Milo- Crossman, Milo
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038763610 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lubec Shipyard Site, Milo
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039555790 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ox-Yoke Originals, Inc., Milo
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043083276 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Abbie Fowler School, Sangerville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043083285 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Central Hall, Dover-Foxcroft
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043083294 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Desmond'S Variety, Guilford
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044760504 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Moosehead Furniture Mill - Lots 29 & 30, Monson
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060471993 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Mayo Mill Dam And Powerhouse, Dover-Foxcroft
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064472468 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Monson Center, Monson
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071963728 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Maine Leathers - Lot 87, Dover-Foxcroft
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071967947 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Rockwall Gardens, Guilford
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071969639 (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 Piscataquis 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 Piscataquis 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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