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Berks County, Pennsylvania: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Berks County is 143.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 1,760 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (743), Air permit holder (minor source) (223), Rail grade crossing (208). 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: 40.4031, -75.9279.

How this county ranks in Pennsylvania

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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 Berks County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Brain & nervous system	New cases	8	6.2	1.29xSignificant	6.9 to 9.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	18.1	14.5	1.25xSignificant	16.5 to 19.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	22.7	18.7	1.21xSignificant	21 to 24.5	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.3	4.4	1.2x	4.4 to 6.3	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.6	4.8	1.17x	4.7 to 6.5	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	18.9	16.4	1.15x	14.8 to 23.8	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5.3	4.6	1.15x	4.5 to 6.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.3	2	1.15x	1.8 to 3	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.1	18.5	1.14xSignificant	19.4 to 23	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.6	11.3	1.12x	11.3 to 14	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	15.2	13.9	1.09x	13.8 to 16.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	56.3	51.8	1.09xSignificant	53.6 to 59.1	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7.1	6.6	1.08x	6.2 to 8.2	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	3.9	3.7	1.05x	3.2 to 4.7	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	472.6	453.4	1.04xSignificant	464.3 to 481	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	143.7	143.2	1x	139.3 to 148.3	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	4.1	4.1	1x	3.4 to 5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	29.6	30.2	0.98x	27.6 to 31.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.2	17.9	0.96x	15.6 to 18.9	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.3	6.6	0.95x	5.4 to 7.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.3	8.7	0.95x	7.3 to 9.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.2	3.4	0.94x	2.6 to 4	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	5.3	5.7	0.93x	4.5 to 6.2	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	2.5	2.7	0.93x	2 to 3.2	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	11.2	13	0.86x	9.8 to 12.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	17.8	23.8	0.75x	16.3 to 19.5	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 Berks County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,367.6	9,842.6	-25%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.8	75.3	+3%	years
Child mortality	50.6	59.8	-15%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.2	6.2	-1%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	84.2	96.9	-13%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	31.3	28.6	+9%	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.

Formaldehyde19.03 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.97 per million
Acetaldehyde2.01 per million
Benzene1.91 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 249 good, 3 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 43, peak 122.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,760 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit743
Air permit holder (minor source)223
Rail grade crossing208
Gas station (mapped facility)133
Small hazardous waste generator128
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)57
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)45
TRI reporting facility43
Large hazardous waste generator37
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)31
Hazardous waste transporter28
Major air pollution source18
Large greenhouse gas emitter9
Superfund (NPL) site9
Public airport8
Heliport7
Landfill (mapped facility)7
Brownfield property6
EPA air quality monitor5
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)4
Biomass power plant2
Gas power plant2
Solar power plant2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Commercial airport1
Crematorium (mapped facility)1
Oil-fired 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.

CryoChem, Inc., Worman
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 28.6. NPL Site.
EPA site ID PAD002360444 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Douglassville Disposal, Douglassville
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 55.2. NPL Site.
EPA site ID PAD002384865 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Bally Ground Water Contamination, Bally Borough
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 37.9. NPL Site.
EPA site ID PAD061105128 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Berks Sand Pit, Longswamp Township
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 32. NPL Site.
EPA site ID PAD980691794 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Brown's Battery Breaking, Shoemakersville
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 37.3. NPL Site.
EPA site ID PAD980831812 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Ryeland Road Arsenic, Heidelberg Township
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 60.3. NPL Site.
EPA site ID PAD981033459 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Crossley Farm, Hereford Township
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 29.7. NPL Site.
EPA site ID PAD981740061 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Former Exide Technologies Laureldale , Laureldale
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 70.7. NPL Site.
EPA site ID PAN000305561 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Price Battery, Hamburg
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 37.9. NPL Site.
EPA site ID PAN000305679 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Heidleberg Materials Us Cement Evansville Plt, Fleetwood
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $221,517.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000338073 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.7
Carpenter Technology Corp, Reading
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Nickel And Nickel Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 4,868,331 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 19612CRPNT101WB (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.6
Carpenter Technology Corp, Reading
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $54,400.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010267237 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9
Global Advanced Metals Usa/Boyertown, Boyertown
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040906464 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.9
Heidelberg Materials Us Cement Llc - Evansville, Fleetwood
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Manganese compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Mercury compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 359,402 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 19510LLNTWFOOTO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Cambridge Lee Plants 2, 3, 4, Reading
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011575456 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.5
Can Corp Of America Inc, Blandon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Butyl alcohol, Ethylbenzene, Certain glycol ethers and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 43,717 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 19510CNCRPEXCEL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Cambridge-Lee Industries, Reading
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 43,465 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 19612RDNGTROUTE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Campbell Manufacturing Llc, Bechtelsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000584886 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
East Penn Manufacturing Co Inc, Lyon Station
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Antimony, Mercury, Arsenic and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 16,892 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 19536STPNNDEKAR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Materion Brush Inc, Shoemakersville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000603918 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.6
Reading Truck Body, Llc, Reading
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $45,147.
EPA FRS registry ID 110057979692 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Wm Western Berks Comm Ldfl & Recycling Ctr, Birdsboro
Major air pollution source. Penalties $30,510.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000880903 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Brenntag Northeast Llc, Reading
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Methanol, Formic acid, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,181 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 19605TXTLCPOTTS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Toppan Interamerica Inc/Caernarvon, Morgantown
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000584975 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.1
Brenntag Northeast - Snyder Road, Reading
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Dichloromethane, n-Hexane, Methanol, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 2,108 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1960WBRNNT619SB (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1

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 Berks County

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