PA / county FIPS 42069 / county research

Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Lackawanna County is 164.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Esophagus deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate and Bladder deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 890 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (359), Air permit holder (minor source) (123), Small hazardous waste generator (81). 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: 41.4043, -75.6406.

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 Lackawanna County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	8.1	4.6	1.76xSignificant	6.7 to 9.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	6.4	3.7	1.73xSignificant	5.2 to 7.8	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	21.2	13	1.63xSignificant	18.5 to 24.2	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	23.1	16.4	1.41xSignificant	16.6 to 31.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	25.7	18.7	1.37xSignificant	23.2 to 28.4	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	5.3	4.1	1.29xSignificant	4.3 to 6.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	66.3	51.8	1.28xSignificant	62.4 to 70.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	37.2	30.2	1.23xSignificant	34.3 to 40.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.9	5.7	1.21x	5.6 to 8.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	17.5	14.5	1.21xSignificant	15.3 to 19.9	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	10.4	8.7	1.2xSignificant	8.8 to 12.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.7	6.6	1.17x	6.4 to 9.2	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.6	4.8	1.17x	4.5 to 7	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	164.6	143.2	1.15xSignificant	158.3 to 171.1	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	26.7	23.8	1.12xSignificant	23.9 to 29.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	502.5	453.4	1.11xSignificant	490.7 to 514.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19	17.9	1.06x	16.7 to 21.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.1	2	1.05x	1.4 to 3	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	14.1	13.9	1.01x	12.3 to 16.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.1	11.3	0.98x	9.5 to 12.9	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.8	6.2	0.94x	4.5 to 7.3	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6	6.6	0.91x	4.8 to 7.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.8	18.5	0.91x	14.8 to 19.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3	3.4	0.88x	2.2 to 4	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	2.2	2.7	0.81x	1.5 to 3.1	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	3.4	4.4	0.77x	2.5 to 4.6	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 Lackawanna County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,255.7	9,842.6	-6%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.8	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	38.6	59.8	-35%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.8	6.2	-6%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	100.7	96.9	+4%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	44.5	28.6	+56%	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.

Formaldehyde15.49 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Benzene2.37 per million
Acetaldehyde1.54 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 270 good, 3 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 39, peak 117.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit359
Air permit holder (minor source)123
Small hazardous waste generator81
Gas station (mapped facility)71
Rail grade crossing57
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)44
Brownfield property29
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)23
Scrapyard (mapped facility)21
Hazardous waste transporter16
Large hazardous waste generator14
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)14
TRI reporting facility10
Major air pollution source7
Public airport5
Heliport4
Landfill (mapped facility)4
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
EPA air quality monitor2
Gas power plant2
Dry cleaner (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.

Us Army Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, Scranton
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $1,343.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000492351 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.6
Alleima Usa Llc, Clarks Summit
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Hydrogen fluoride, Chromium, Nickel and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 7,631 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 18411SNDVKIVYIN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Fxi Inc. - Archbald, Archbald
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene diisocyanate (mixed isomers). Reports carcinogens. 2,443 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 18403FLXBL13PWE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Polychemie Inc., Taylor
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Dimethylamine, Formaldehyde, Methanol, Acrylamide. Reports carcinogens. 944 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 18517SCDYNSTAUF (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Gentex Corp, Simpson
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds. 35,134 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 18407GNTXCMAINS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
U.S. Army Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, Scranton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Manganese, Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 253 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 18505SDDSR156CE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Canpack Us, Olyphant
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, n-Butyl alcohol, Hydrogen fluoride, Chromium and 3 more. 7,314 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1844WCNPCK14ELA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
Sauquoit Ind Llc / Noble Biomaterials, Scranton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde. Reports carcinogens. 66 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1850WSQTND3PALM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.9
United Gilsonite Laboratories, Dunmore
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers. 3,610 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 18509NTDGL1396J (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Lockheed Martin - Archbald, Archbald
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 37 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 18403DVFFRJFKEN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Canpack Us, Olyphant
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071285204 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Sandvik Materials Technology, Clarks Summit
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010210805 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Houghton Chemical Corp, Scranton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol, Methanol. 3,217 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 18505NVCKC705DA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
United Gilsonite Labs, Dunmore
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004835000 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Spring Brook Twp Sew Auth, Moscow
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $34,873.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010970011 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Houghton Chemical Corp, Scranton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056142044 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Us Army Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, Scranton
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $1,343.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000492351 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Us Army Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, Scranton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,343.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000492351 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Archbald Power Sta, Archbald
Major air pollution source. Penalties $3,150.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001085646 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Covington Twp Sewer Auth, Moscow
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $13,167.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010969675 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Lackawanna Energy Ctr Llc/Jessup, Jessup
Major air pollution source. Penalties $54,662.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067430391 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Innocor Foam Technologies Acp Inc/Archbald, Archbald
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017612056 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Lockheed Martin - Archbald, Archbald
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007338997 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Anthracite Auto Exchange Inc, Scranton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $26,728.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010150068 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Eagle Lake Comm Assoc Wwtp, Gouldsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $49,963.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010970333 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 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 Lackawanna 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 Lackawanna 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 Lackawanna County View on the heat map All Pennsylvania counties