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Salem County, New Jersey: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Salem County is 172.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Melanoma of the skin deaths at 2 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 455 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (158), Air permit holder (minor source) (78), Rail grade crossing (76). One correctional facility operates 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: 39.592, -75.3149.

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 Salem County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	4	2	2xSignificant	2.3 to 6.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	21.3	13.9	1.53xSignificant	17.2 to 26.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	45.9	30.2	1.52xSignificant	39.9 to 52.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	15	11.3	1.33xSignificant	11.7 to 19.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	68.2	51.8	1.32xSignificant	60.8 to 76.4	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	3.4	2.7	1.26x	1.9 to 5.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.9	17.9	1.22x	17.5 to 27.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8	6.6	1.21x	5.6 to 11.2	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	172.7	143.2	1.21xSignificant	160.7 to 185.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.9	3.4	1.15x	2.2 to 6.4	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	14.5	13	1.12x	10.5 to 19.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	498.8	453.4	1.1xSignificant	477.5 to 520.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.4	8.7	1.08x	6.8 to 12.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6	5.7	1.05x	3.9 to 8.8	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.4	6.2	1.03x	4 to 9.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23.4	23.8	0.98x	18.9 to 28.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.3	18.7	0.98x	14.6 to 22.8	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6.4	6.6	0.97x	4.1 to 9.6	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	3.9	4.1	0.95x	2.3 to 6.3	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.9	18.5	0.91x	13.2 to 21.4	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	4.2	4.6	0.91x	2.5 to 6.7	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.9	14.5	0.89x	9.6 to 17	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	3.9	4.4	0.89x	2.2 to 6.6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	3.4	4.8	0.71x	2 to 5.7	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 Salem County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,685.2	9,842.6	+19%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.7	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	63.1	59.8	+6%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7	6.2	+12%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	121.8	96.9	+26%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	48.8	28.6	+71%	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.

Formaldehyde17.89 per million
Ethylene Oxide5.31 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride3 per million
Acetaldehyde1.71 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit158
Air permit holder (minor source)78
Rail grade crossing76
Gas station (mapped facility)28
Small hazardous waste generator18
Large hazardous waste generator16
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)11
Major air pollution source10
Brownfield property9
TRI reporting facility8
Public airport7
Large greenhouse gas emitter7
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)6
Hazardous waste transporter4
Heliport3
Landfill (mapped facility)3
Industrial wastewater discharge2
Nuclear power plant2
Solar power plant2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Coal power plant1
Gas power plant1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

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

Chemours-Chambers Works, Penns Grove
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $36,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007970142 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
NL Industries, Pedricktown
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 53. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NJD061843249 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Chemours Chambers Works, Deepwater
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Tetrafluoroethylene, Ethylene, Manganese compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. Reports PFAS. 2,507,900 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 0802WCHMRS67CAN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Mexichem - Specialty Resins Inc, Pedricktown
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $35,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041022274 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Siegfried Usa, Llc, Pennsville
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $107,980.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000321250 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.8
Oxy Vinyls, Lp, Pedricktown
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $115,432.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070212279 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.7
Mexichem Specialty Resins Inc, Pedricktown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Vinyl chloride, Methyl acrylate, Ethyl acrylate, Methyl methacrylate and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 89,950 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 08067THGNCUSRTE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Siegfried Usa Llc, Pennsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Methyl tert-butyl ether and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 51,455 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 08070GNSCHINDUS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Oxy Vinyls Lp, Pedricktown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Vinyl chloride. Reports carcinogens. 18,679 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 08067XYVNYRTE13 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Dupont Specialty Products Usa Llc - Chambers Works, Deepwater
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Tetrafluoroethylene. Reports carcinogens. 17,684 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 08023DPNTCRT130 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Lubrizol Corp, Pedricktown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethyl acrylate, Methyl methacrylate, Acrylonitrile, Butyl acrylate and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 13,944 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 08067THBFGUSROU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Siegfried Usa, Llc, Pennsville
Major air pollution source. Penalties $107,980.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000321250 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Salem County Utilties Authority, Alloway
Major air pollution source. Penalties $253,320.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001545855 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Chemours-Chambers Works, Penns Grove
Major air pollution source. Penalties $36,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007970142 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Mexichem - Specialty Resins Inc, Pedricktown
Major air pollution source. Penalties $35,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041022274 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Chambers Cogeneration L.P., Penns Grove
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Hydrogen fluoride, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 7,994 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 08069CRNYS500SH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Lubrizol Corp, Pedricktown
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000321198 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.2
Siegfried Usa, Llc, Pennsville
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $107,980.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000321250 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Siegfried Usa, Llc, Pennsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $107,980.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000321250 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Salem County Utilties Authority, Alloway
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $253,320.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001545855 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Chemours-Chambers Works, Penns Grove
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $36,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007970142 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Chemours-Chambers Works, Penns Grove
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $36,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007970142 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Lacys Express Inc, Oldmans Twp
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $20,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038224597 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Mexichem - Specialty Resins Inc, Pedricktown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $35,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041022274 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Salem County Utilties Authority, Alloway
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $253,320.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001545855 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5

Correctional facilities

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

Salem County Correctional Facility, Pilesgrove Twp
EPA FRS registry ID
110042330135
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Salem 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 Salem 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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