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Union County, New Jersey: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Union County is 113.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 1,756 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (659), Air permit holder (minor source) (386), Small hazardous waste generator (191). 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: 40.666, -74.2739.

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 Union County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	Deaths	0.8	0.5	1.6x	0.5 to 1.1	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	16.8	13	1.29xSignificant	15.4 to 18.4	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	8.1	6.6	1.23xSignificant	7.2 to 9.1	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	19.6	16.4	1.2x	16.1 to 23.6	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	3.2	2.7	1.19x	2.6 to 3.9	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	15.8	14.5	1.09x	14.4 to 17.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.5	13.9	1.04x	13.3 to 15.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.2	18.5	1.04x	17.8 to 20.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	462.5	453.4	1.02xSignificant	455.1 to 470	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.1	6.2	0.98x	5.2 to 7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.8	18.7	0.9x	15.4 to 18.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.7	8.7	0.89x	6.8 to 8.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10	11.3	0.88x	8.9 to 11.1	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	4.8	5.7	0.84x	4.1 to 5.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4	4.8	0.83x	3.4 to 4.8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	14.6	17.9	0.82x	13.3 to 15.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	113.9	143.2	0.8x	110.3 to 117.6	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	3.4	4.4	0.77x	2.7 to 4.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.1	6.6	0.77x	4.4 to 6	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	3.1	4.1	0.76x	2.5 to 3.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	37.3	51.8	0.72x	35.2 to 39.5	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	3.2	4.6	0.7x	2.6 to 3.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	1.3	2	0.65x	0.9 to 1.7	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	15.4	23.8	0.65x	14.1 to 16.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	18.8	30.2	0.62x	17.3 to 20.3	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	2.1	3.7	0.57x	1.7 to 2.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	1.9	3.4	0.56x	1.5 to 2.4	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 Union County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	6,476.7	9,842.6	-34%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.3	75.3	+5%	years
Child mortality	35.8	59.8	-40%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	3.8	6.2	-39%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	57.7	96.9	-41%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	29.6	28.6	+3%	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.

Formaldehyde17.82 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride3 per million
Benzene2.15 per million
Ethylene Oxide1.79 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 363 days: 222 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 44, peak 111.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,756 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit659
Air permit holder (minor source)386
Small hazardous waste generator191
Large hazardous waste generator118
Gas station (mapped facility)94
Rail grade crossing56
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)54
Brownfield property50
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)31
TRI reporting facility26
Major air pollution source22
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)15
Hazardous waste transporter13
Solar power plant11
Large greenhouse gas emitter6
Gas power plant5
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)5
EPA air quality monitor3
Heliport3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Superfund (NPL) site2
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Biomass power plant1
Other 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.

Linden Generating Station, Linden
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000869105 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Veolia North America Regeneration Services, Linden
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $8,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024163126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery, Linden
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $13,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041133163 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Chemical Control, Elizabeth
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 47.1. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NJD000607481 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
LCP Chemicals Inc., Linden
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NJD079303020 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Phillips 66 Co-Bayway Refinery, Linden
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Hydrogen cyanide, Propylene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 15,437,895 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 07036XXNXX1400P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Safety-Kleen Systems Inc - Linden Facility, Linden
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $246,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000318549 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.7
Karnak, Clark
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $127,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000318790 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.4
Citgo Linden Terminal, Linden
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000318424 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.8
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp, Rahway
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000492020 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.7
Synray Corporation, Kenilworth
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007393766 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.6
Infineum Usa Lp-Bayway Chemical Plant, Linden
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Ethylene, sec-Butyl alcohol, tert-Butyl alcohol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 207,316 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 07036XXNCH1400P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Linden Generating Station, Linden
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Ethylbenzene, Naphthalene, Ethylene glycol. Reports carcinogens. 175,953 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 07036LNDNGWOODA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Paramount Metal Finishing, Linden
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $3,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000318521 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.5
Cosmed Group Inc, Linden
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000318567 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.2
Gulf Oil Lp Linden Terminal, Linden
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Toluene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, n-Hexane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 56,744 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 07036GLFLL2600M (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Cycle Chem Inc, Elizabeth
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $193,150.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064065808 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Citgo Petroleum Corp, Linden
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 31,829 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 07036CTGPT4801S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Safety-Kleen Systems Inc, Linden
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetonitrile, N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, Methanol, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 23,990 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 07036SFTYK1200S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Acupowder International Llc, Union
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Zinc (fume or dust), Manganese, Chromium and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 12,786 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 07083LCNPW901LE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Synray Corp, Kenilworth
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Methyl methacrylate, Phthalic anhydride, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 12,261 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 07033SYNRY209NM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Phillips 66 Co Tremley Point Terminal, Linden
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Hexane, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 11,838 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 07036CNCPHFTFSW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Merck Sharp & Dohme Llc, Rahway
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methyl tert-butyl ether, Acetonitrile, Methanol, Toluene and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 11,011 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 07065MRCKC126EL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Merck Sharp & Dohme - Kenilworth, Kenilworth
Major air pollution source. Penalties $17,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000318406 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Linden - Sunoco Llc (Marine), Linden
Major air pollution source. Penalties $2,400.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000318497 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5

Correctional facilities

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

Union Cnty Juvenile Detention Center, Linden
EPA FRS registry ID
110029378876
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Union 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 Union 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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