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Rensselaer County, New York: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Rensselaer County is 157.4 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 1.7 times the U.S. rate and Esophagus deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 709 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (216), Gas station (mapped facility) (78), Large hazardous waste generator (78). 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: 42.7137, -73.4895.

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 Rensselaer County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	7.9	4.6	1.72xSignificant	6.2 to 9.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	3.3	2	1.65xSignificant	2.3 to 4.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	82.4	51.8	1.59xSignificant	77 to 88.1	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	5.5	3.7	1.49xSignificant	4.1 to 7.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.8	3.4	1.41xSignificant	3.6 to 6.4	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	26	18.7	1.39xSignificant	23 to 29.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	38.6	30.2	1.28xSignificant	34.9 to 42.5	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	5.2	4.1	1.27x	3.9 to 6.8	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	15.7	13	1.21xSignificant	13.2 to 18.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	17.4	14.5	1.2xSignificant	14.9 to 20.3	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	19.5	16.4	1.19x	12.6 to 28.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	16.2	13.9	1.17x	13.8 to 19	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.4	18.5	1.16xSignificant	18.6 to 24.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	518	453.4	1.14xSignificant	503.8 to 532.4	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7	6.2	1.13x	5.3 to 9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.8	17.9	1.11x	17.1 to 22.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	157.4	143.2	1.1xSignificant	149.8 to 165.4	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	2.9	2.7	1.07x	1.9 to 4.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.6	4.4	1.05x	3.4 to 6.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	11.7	11.3	1.04x	9.7 to 14.1	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	5.7	5.7	1x	4.3 to 7.4	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.8	4.8	1x	3.5 to 6.4	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23.5	23.8	0.99x	20.6 to 26.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.5	8.7	0.98x	6.9 to 10.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.3	6.6	0.8x	4 to 6.9	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	5.2	6.6	0.79x	3.9 to 6.9	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 Rensselaer County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,121.7	9,842.6	-28%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.7	75.3	+3%	years
Child mortality	38.7	59.8	-35%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.2	6.2	-16%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	62.3	96.9	-36%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	27.4	28.6	-4%	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.

Formaldehyde15.27 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.99 per million
Acetaldehyde1.65 per million
Benzene1.41 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit216
Gas station (mapped facility)78
Large hazardous waste generator78
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)66
Air permit holder (minor source)59
Small hazardous waste generator58
Rail grade crossing56
Brownfield property34
Major air pollution source10
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)8
TRI reporting facility7
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)4
Landfill (mapped facility)4
Hydroelectric plant4
Gas power plant4
Solar power plant4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Public airport3
Hazardous waste transporter3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Superfund (NPL) site2
Airfield1
Heliport1
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.

Dewey Loeffel Landfill, Nassau
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NYD000512335 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, Village Of Hoosick Falls
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NYD004986741 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Tonoga Inc Dba Taconic, Petersburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002093886 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.5
Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, Hoosick Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene. Reports carcinogens. 86,412 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 12090FLRGL1LIBE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Curia Rensselaer Inc., Rensselaer
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Toluene, N,N-Dimethylformamide, 1,4-Dioxane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 35,812 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 12144STRLN33RIV (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Tonoga Inc Dba Taconic, Petersburgh
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Aluminum oxide (fibrous forms), Ethylbenzene and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 14,643 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 12138TCNCPCOONB (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Alkegen, Hoosick Falls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene. Reports carcinogens. 12,243 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 12090LYDLL12DAV (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Sprague Rensselaer Terminal, Rensselaer
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,393 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1214WSPRGP58RIV (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Empire Generating Co Llc., Rensselaer
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 128,849 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1214WMPRGN75RIV (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Saint-Gobain Performance Plast Ics, Hoosick Falls
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000324248 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Empire Generating Co, Llc., Rensselaer
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020996083 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Curia New York Inc, Rensselaer
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000324373 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
East Greenbush (T) Wwtp, Rensselaer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000762372 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Regeneron Pharmacueticals, Rensselaer
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110019584145 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Hoosick Falls Wwtp, Hoosick Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002345301 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Brunswick Ms4 Storm Sewers, Brunswick
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,900.
EPA FRS registry ID 110019303305 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Route 7 Used Auto Parts, Hoosick Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064247701 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Rensselaer Terminal, Rensselaer
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001583581 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
New Castle Asphalt Llc Rensselaer Blacktop Facility, Rensselaer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,300.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055010287 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Cahills Garage, Hoosick
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,300.
EPA FRS registry ID 110019461991 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Pilot Travel Center #146, Schodack, Town Of
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $24,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040465742 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Ross Valve Mfg Co, Troy
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000324417 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.6
Ross Valve Manufacturing Co Inc, Troy
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Lead compounds. 116 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 12181RSSVL6OAKW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
Tonoga Inc Dba Taconic, Petersburg
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002093886 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Tonoga Inc Dba Taconic, Petersburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002093886 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5

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 Rensselaer 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 Rensselaer 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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