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Middlesex County, New Jersey: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Middlesex County is 118 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 3,220 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (1,039), Air permit holder (minor source) (623), Small hazardous waste generator (382). 3 correctional facilities operate in the county. EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 30 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: 40.43, -74.4013.

How this county ranks in New Jersey

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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 Middlesex County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	New cases	15.8	13	1.22xSignificant	14.6 to 17	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7.8	6.6	1.18xSignificant	7.1 to 8.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.5	14.5	1.14xSignificant	15.4 to 17.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.3	18.7	1.09xSignificant	19.1 to 21.6	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.9	18.5	1.08xSignificant	18.7 to 21.2	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2.9	2.7	1.07x	2.4 to 3.4	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	16.6	16.4	1.01x	13.8 to 19.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	456.6	453.4	1.01x	450.7 to 462.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.9	13.9	1x	12.9 to 15	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.9	6.2	0.95x	5.2 to 6.7	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	3.9	4.1	0.95x	3.3 to 4.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	10.2	11.3	0.9x	9.4 to 11.1	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.1	4.8	0.85x	3.6 to 4.7	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.4	8.7	0.85x	6.7 to 8.2	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	3.9	4.6	0.85x	3.4 to 4.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	43.8	51.8	0.85x	42.1 to 45.7	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	15.1	17.9	0.84x	14.1 to 16.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	4.7	5.7	0.82x	4.1 to 5.3	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	118	143.2	0.82x	115.1 to 121.1	2020-2024
Thyroid	Deaths	0.4	0.5	0.8x	0.3 to 0.6	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5	6.6	0.76x	4.4 to 5.6	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	2.8	3.7	0.76x	2.4 to 3.3	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	3.3	4.4	0.75x	2.8 to 3.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	22.4	30.2	0.74x	21.2 to 23.8	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	1.3	2	0.65x	1 to 1.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	2.2	3.4	0.65x	1.9 to 2.7	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	15	23.8	0.63x	14 to 16.1	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 Middlesex County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,499.1	9,842.6	-44%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	80.2	75.3	+7%	years
Child mortality	26	59.8	-56%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	3.6	6.2	-42%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	53.6	96.9	-45%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	26.9	28.6	-6%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 30 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde17.31 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride3 per million
Benzene1.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.7 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 362 days: 295 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 36, peak 112.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

3,220 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit1,039
Air permit holder (minor source)623
Small hazardous waste generator382
Large hazardous waste generator272
Rail grade crossing201
Gas station (mapped facility)189
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)128
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)68
TRI reporting facility58
Brownfield property55
Solar power plant45
Major air pollution source38
Hazardous waste transporter29
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)24
Heliport15
Superfund (NPL) site13
Large greenhouse gas emitter10
Scrapyard (mapped facility)10
Gas power plant6
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Correctional facility (prison or jail)3
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Biomass power plant2
Oil-fired power plant2
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1

Highest-severity records

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

Grace Davison Edison Facility, Edison
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $14,720.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067001862 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Middlesex Sampling Plant (USDOE), Middlesex
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NJ0890090012 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
CPS/Madison Industries, Old Bridge Township
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 69.7. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NJD002141190 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Fried Industries, East Brunswick Township
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 33.6. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NJD041828906 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Kin-Buc Landfill, Edison Township
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50.6. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NJD049860836 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Global Sanitary Landfill, Old Bridge Township
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 45.9. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NJD063160667 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
JIS Landfill, Jamesburg, South Brunswick Township
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 45.1. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NJD097400998 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Chemical Insecticide Corp., Edison Township
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 37.9. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NJD980484653 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Chemsol, Inc., Piscataway
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 42.7. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NJD980528889 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Evor Phillips Leasing, Old Bridge Township
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 36.6. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NJD980654222 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Horseshoe Road, Sayreville
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 51.4. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NJD980663678 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Cornell Dubilier Electronics, Inc., South Plainfield
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50.3. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NJD981557879 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Atlantic Resources Corporation, Sayreville
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NJD981558430 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Woodbrook Road Dump, South Plainfield
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NJSFN0204260 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Cmc Steel - New Jersey Facility, Sayreville
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $465,520.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040971491 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.4
Englert Metals Corp, Perth Amboy
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $196,160.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000322268 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.2
Mauser Corp (Russell Stanley Corp), Woodbridge
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $70,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000500930 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.2
Veolia Es Technical Solutions, Middlesex
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $47,100.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000322133 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.2
Firmenich Incorporated, Plainsboro
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $5,240.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000321651 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.1
Chemours Parlin Facility, Parlin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methyl isobutyl ketone, N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, Triethylamine, Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. Reports PFAS. 7,333 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 0885WCHMRS25CHE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9
E I Dupont De Nemours & Co - Parlin Plant, Parlin
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $4,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000607727 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.7
Silgan Containers Manufacturing Corp, Edison
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $367,880.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000321955 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.6
Silgan Containers Manufacturing Corp, Edison
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Butyl alcohol, Certain glycol ethers, Methyl isobutyl ketone, Xylene (mixed isomers). Reports carcinogens. 130,770 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 08817MRCNN135NA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Ames Advanced Materials, South Plainfield
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $10,400.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000739791 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.4
Ashland Specialty Ingredients (Parlin Plant), Parlin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: tert-Butyl alcohol, Nitric acid, Ethylene oxide, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 97,731 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 08859HRCLSSOUTH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3

Correctional facilities

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

Middlesex Cnty Adult Correctional Cntr, North Brunswick Twp
EPA FRS registry ID
110070211564
Wastewater permit
Yes, 12 quarters in noncompliance
EPA detailed facility report
Middlesex Cnty Adult Corrections Facility, North Brunswick
EPA FRS registry ID
110007381671
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
East Jersey State Prison, Woodbridge Twp
EPA FRS registry ID
110070221904
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Middlesex County

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