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Mercer County, Pennsylvania: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Mercer County is 159.3 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 Bladder deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,166 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (658), Air permit holder (minor source) (110), Rail grade crossing (96). 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: 41.2898, -80.2593.

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 Mercer County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	3.4	2	1.7xSignificant	2.2 to 5	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	19.2	13	1.48xSignificant	15.6 to 23.3	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	6	4.1	1.46xSignificant	4.6 to 7.9	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	6.4	4.6	1.39xSignificant	4.8 to 8.4	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	5.1	3.7	1.38x	3.7 to 7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	37	30.2	1.23xSignificant	33 to 41.3	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	22.2	18.7	1.19xSignificant	19.1 to 25.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	60.2	51.8	1.16xSignificant	55.1 to 65.6	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	18.8	16.4	1.15x	10.7 to 30.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.3	14.5	1.12x	13.5 to 19.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	159.3	143.2	1.11xSignificant	150.8 to 168.2	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.6	3.4	1.06x	2.5 to 5.1	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	25.1	23.8	1.05x	21.3 to 29.3	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.6	4.4	1.05x	3.2 to 6.6	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.4	6.2	1.03x	4.6 to 8.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.8	4.8	1x	3.5 to 6.5	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	453.2	453.4	1x	438 to 468.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.4	13.9	0.96x	11 to 16.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.4	5.7	0.95x	4 to 7.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	10.6	11.3	0.94x	8.6 to 13.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8	8.7	0.92x	6.1 to 10.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.8	18.5	0.91x	13.9 to 20.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.2	6.6	0.79x	3.7 to 7.2	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	5.2	6.6	0.79x	3.7 to 7.2	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2.1	2.7	0.78x	1.2 to 3.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	11.6	17.9	0.65x	9.4 to 14.4	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 Mercer County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,602.6	9,842.6	+8%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.6	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	69.3	59.8	+16%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7.1	6.2	+14%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	111.5	96.9	+15%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	50	28.6	+75%	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.

Formaldehyde15.46 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Benzene1.76 per million
Acetaldehyde1.6 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 265 good, 3 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 42, peak 115.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,166 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit658
Air permit holder (minor source)110
Rail grade crossing96
Small hazardous waste generator76
Brownfield property42
Gas station (mapped facility)37
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)35
TRI reporting facility32
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)17
Large hazardous waste generator15
Hazardous waste transporter10
Major air pollution source8
Public airport7
Heliport4
Scrapyard (mapped facility)4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Superfund (NPL) site3
EPA air quality monitor2
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Landfill (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.

Salem Tube Mfg, Greenville
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000331061 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Sharon Steel Corp (Farrell Works Disposal Area) , Hickory Township
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID PAD001933175 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Westinghouse Electric Corp. (Sharon Plant), Sharon
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 41.3. NPL Site.
EPA site ID PAD005000575 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Osborne Landfill, Grove City
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 54.6. NPL Site.
EPA site ID PAD980712673 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Salem Tube Inc., Greenville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Trichloroethylene, Nickel, Chromium, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 433,741 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 16125SLMTBFOURT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Jones Performance Products Inc., West Middlesex
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 160,128 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 16159JNSPR1JONE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Greenville Metals Inc - Transfer Facility, Transfer
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $21,700.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000331212 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.2
Interstate Chemical Co Inc, Hermitage
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Dichloromethane, Methanol, n-Hexane, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 43,026 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 16148NTRST2797F (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Ccl Container Aerosol Div, Hermitage
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $8,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000331169 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Ccl Container Aerosol Div, Hermitage
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, Xylene (mixed isomers), Certain glycol ethers, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 30,476 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 16148DVNCDONELL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Nlmk Pennsylvania Llc, Farrell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Nickel, Lead And Lead Compounds and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 22,231 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 16121DFRCF15ROE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Greenville Metals Inc, Transfer
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel And Nickel Compounds, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Nickel compounds, Cobalt And Cobalt Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 16,227 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 16154GRNVLRD2BO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Wheatland Tube Company - Council, Wheatland
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000331258 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.6
Salem Tube Mfg, Greenville
Major air pollution source. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000331061 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Dba Rsi Metal Litho Greenville, Greenville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, n-Butyl alcohol, Ethylbenzene and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 6,721 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1612WDBSLC242RE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Nlmk Pennsylvania Llc, Farrell
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000763923 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Signature Alum Inc - Greenville Facility, Greenville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000331043 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.2
Zekelman Industries Co Dba Wheatland Tube Co-Council, Wheatland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Zinc compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds and 4 more. 271,072 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 16161WHTLNCOUNC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Sharon Coating Llc, Sharon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds, Zinc compounds, Nickel compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 2,478 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 16146SHRNC277SH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Salem Tube Mfg, Greenville
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000331061 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Salem Tube Mfg, Greenville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000331061 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Interstate Chemical Co Inc, Hermitage
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $27,300.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000331187 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Russell Standard Mercer, Mercer
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Xylene (mixed isomers), Cyclohexane, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 983 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1613WMRCRP121PE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Ge Transportation Grove City Ux Plant, Grove City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel, Lead, Chromium and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 271 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1612WGTRNS66BAR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Cronimet Specialty Metals Usa Inc., Wheatland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Cobalt, Chromium, Manganese and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 250 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1616WPMKLC4CUNC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3

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 Mercer 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 Mercer 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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