PA / county FIPS 42055 / county research

Franklin County, Pennsylvania: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Franklin County is 158.4 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 2 times the U.S. rate and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,014 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (593), Air permit holder (minor source) (95), Rail grade crossing (95). 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: 40.0045, -77.7064.

How this county ranks in Pennsylvania

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Franklin County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	3.9	2	1.95xSignificant	2.8 to 5.3	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.6	3.4	1.35x	3.4 to 6.1	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	5	3.7	1.35x	3.7 to 6.6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6.4	4.8	1.33xSignificant	5 to 8.1	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	30	23.8	1.26xSignificant	26.6 to 33.8	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	5.1	4.1	1.24x	3.9 to 6.6	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.4	4.6	1.17x	4 to 7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.6	11.3	1.12x	10.6 to 14.9	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	158.4	143.2	1.11xSignificant	151 to 166	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	33.2	30.2	1.1x	30 to 36.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.2	5.7	1.09x	4.8 to 7.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	14.7	13.9	1.06x	12.5 to 17.3	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	17.2	16.4	1.05x	11 to 25.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.2	14.5	1.05x	12.8 to 18	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6.1	6.6	0.92x	4.6 to 7.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	47.6	51.8	0.92x	43.6 to 51.8	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11.8	13	0.91x	9.5 to 14.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.2	17.9	0.91x	13.8 to 19.1	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.5	6.2	0.89x	4.1 to 7.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16	18.5	0.86x	13.7 to 18.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	390.5	453.4	0.86x	378.4 to 402.9	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	3.7	4.4	0.84x	2.7 to 5.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.2	6.6	0.79x	4 to 6.8	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	14.5	18.7	0.78x	12.4 to 17	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2	2.7	0.74x	1.3 to 3.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	5.8	8.7	0.67x	4.4 to 7.4	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 Franklin County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,611.2	9,842.6	-23%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.2	75.3	+3%	years
Child mortality	58.5	59.8	-2%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6	6.2	-4%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	67.3	96.9	-31%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	18.6	28.6	-35%	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.

Formaldehyde18.39 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde1.82 per million
Benzene1.42 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 295 days: 270 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 37, peak 87.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,014 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit593
Air permit holder (minor source)95
Rail grade crossing95
Gas station (mapped facility)49
Small hazardous waste generator48
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)42
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)16
TRI reporting facility15
Large hazardous waste generator13
Major air pollution source9
Public airport6
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)6
Large greenhouse gas emitter4
Solar power plant4
Heliport3
Gas power plant3
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Biomass power plant2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Superfund (NPL) site2
EPA air quality monitor1

Highest-severity records

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

Letterkenny Army Depot (PDO Area), Franklin County
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 37.5. NPL Site.
EPA site ID PA2210090054 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Letterkenny Army Depot (SE Area), Chambersburg
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 34.2. NPL Site.
EPA site ID PA6213820503 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Letterkenny Army Depot (Se Area), Chambersburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025217584 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.3
U.S. Army Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Lead, Dinitrotoluene (mixed isomers), Nitroglycerin and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 197,796 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 17201SDDSRATTNS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Grove Us Llc/Shady Grove Plt, Shady Grove
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000333005 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.9
Tb Woods Inc/Chambersburg, Chambersburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010967276 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.8
Alex C Fergusson Inc, Chambersburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022289003 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.1
Jlg Industries Inc-Hykes Road Facility, Greencastle
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Propylene, Manganese, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 1,455 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 17225JRRDN1080H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Knouse Foods Coop Inc Chambersburg Plant, Chambersburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001061671 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Letterkenny Army Depot (Se Area), Chambersburg
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025217584 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Bwise Trailers, Chambersburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Copper, Chromium, Nickel and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 330 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1720WBWSTR12WAY (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Volvo Construction Equipment Na Llc Shippensburg, Shippensburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Ethylene glycol, Nickel And Nickel Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 228 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 17257NGRSL312IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Grove Us Llc/Shady Grove Plt, Shady Grove
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000333005 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Alex C Fergusson Inc, Chambersburg
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022289003 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Letterkenny Army Depot (Se Area), Chambersburg
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025217584 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Letterkenny Army Depot (Se Area), Chambersburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025217584 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Tb Wood'S Inc, Chambersburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Aluminum (fume or dust). Reports carcinogens. 59 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 17201TBWDS44NFI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.9
Concrete Pipe & Precast Llc-Greencastle Precast Plant, Greencastle
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 52 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1722WDSPPD41SCA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
Epiroc Drilling Tools Llc, Fort Loudon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 52 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1722WTLSCP13278 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
Johnson Controls Inc-Waynesboro (Frick), Waynesboro
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers). 4,373 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 17268FRCKC345WM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
Wenger'S Feed Mill Inc Shippensburg, Shippensburg
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $18,375.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012707972 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Washington Twp Stp, Waynesboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000761382 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Jlg Ind Inc/Greencastle Hykes Rd Rollback Plt, Greencastle
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014021539 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Waynesboro Stp, Waynesboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001095109 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Novae Llc/Waynesboro, Waynesboro
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043290337 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3

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 Franklin 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 Franklin 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.

Scan an address in Franklin County View on the heat map All Pennsylvania counties