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Herkimer County, New York: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Herkimer County is 147.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Bladder deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 357 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (106), Large hazardous waste generator (55), Air permit holder (minor source) (46). 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: 43.4651, -74.9412.

How this county ranks in New York

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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 Herkimer County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	Deaths	6.6	4.1	1.61xSignificant	4.5 to 9.5	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	19.6	13	1.51xSignificant	14.7 to 25.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	27.4	18.7	1.47xSignificant	22.8 to 32.9	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.7	3.7	1.27x	3 to 7.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.4	4.4	1.23x	3.3 to 8.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	60.1	51.8	1.16xSignificant	53.2 to 67.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.2	18.5	1.15x	16.9 to 26.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.4	14.5	1.13x	12.6 to 21.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	507.6	453.4	1.12xSignificant	485.5 to 530.5	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5.1	4.6	1.11x	3.3 to 7.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.2	17.9	1.07x	15 to 24.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.1	11.3	1.07x	9 to 16	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.1	5.7	1.07x	4 to 9.1	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	7	6.6	1.06x	4.8 to 10	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.5	13.9	1.04x	11.1 to 18.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	147.4	143.2	1.03x	136.2 to 159.4	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.3	23.8	1.02x	19.4 to 30.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	29.8	30.2	0.99x	25 to 35.3	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.7	6.2	0.92x	3.6 to 8.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	3.7	4.8	0.77x	2.1 to 6.2	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	3.9	6.6	0.59x	2.2 to 6.5	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	4.4	8.7	0.51x	2.6 to 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 Herkimer County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,794.8	9,842.6	-21%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.6	75.3	+3%	years
Child mortality	54.1	59.8	-9%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.5	6.2	-11%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	63.2	96.9	-35%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	21.6	28.6	-25%	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.

Formaldehyde12.28 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde1.32 per million
Benzene1.2 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit106
Large hazardous waste generator55
Air permit holder (minor source)46
Rail grade crossing44
Brownfield property22
Gas station (mapped facility)20
Small hazardous waste generator19
Hydroelectric plant9
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)9
Public airport8
TRI reporting facility6
Major air pollution source3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Heliport2
EPA air quality monitor1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Wind power plant1
Wastewater plant (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.

Empire Fiberglass Products Inc., Little Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate. Reports carcinogens. 32,858 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 13365MPRFBRIVER (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Feldmeier Equipment Inc, Little Falls
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001570354 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
North Hudson Woodcraft Corp., Dolgeville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 282 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 13329NRTHH152NH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Dolgeville (V) Wwtp, Dolgeville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006621030 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Empire Fiberglass Products Inc, Little Falls
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002342082 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Weston Foods, Frankfort
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 2,000 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1334WGRNNY178IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Feldmeier Equipment Inc, Little Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 20 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 13365CHRRY575EA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Little Falls Waste Water Treatment Plant, Little Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018925528 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Auto Salvage Technologies Inc, Herkimer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $10,100.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035857463 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Feldmeier Equipment Inc, Little Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 17 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1336WFLDMR245RI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Mohawk Valley Recycling, Llc, Herkimer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,300.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071512783 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Barrett Paving Materials Inc. Litchfield, Clayville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Ethylbenzene, Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens. 5 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1349WLTCHF363RA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
North Hudson Woodcraft Corporation, Dolgeville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012159261 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Herkimer (V) Wwtp, Herkimer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110019023732 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Barrett Paving Materials Inc, Clayville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110019486590 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Feldmeier Equipment Inc, Little Falls
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001570354 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Feldmeier Equipment Inc, Little Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001570354 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Rawlings-Adirondack, Dolgeville
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004368997 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Rawlings-Adirondack, Dolgeville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004368997 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Rawlings Adirondack, Dolgeville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030899598 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Gehring Tricot Corporation, Dolgeville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110057307711 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Feldmeier Equipment, Inc., Little Falls
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110057089742 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Feldmeier Equipment Inc, Little Falls
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001570354 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Remington Steam Plant, Ilion
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002442401 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Rawlings-Adirondack, Dolgeville
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110004368997 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4

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 Herkimer County

New York 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 Herkimer County, and their findings.
New York 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 York health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
New York 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 York 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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