PA / county FIPS 42097 / county research

Northumberland County, Pennsylvania: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Northumberland County is 161.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 742 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (267), Rail grade crossing (193), Air permit holder (minor source) (102). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 40.8893, -76.6891.

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 Northumberland County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	New cases	20.2	13	1.55xSignificant	16.2 to 24.9	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	8	6.2	1.29x	5.8 to 10.8	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	23.6	18.7	1.26xSignificant	20.2 to 27.5	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.6	3.7	1.24x	3.2 to 6.5	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.2	3.4	1.24x	2.8 to 6.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	63.9	51.8	1.23xSignificant	58.2 to 70.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	28.9	23.8	1.21xSignificant	24.6 to 33.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	22.1	18.5	1.19xSignificant	18.6 to 26.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	35.7	30.2	1.18xSignificant	31.5 to 40.3	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	4.8	4.1	1.17x	3.4 to 6.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.6	5.7	1.16x	4.8 to 9	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.3	4.6	1.15x	3.8 to 7.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.9	13.9	1.14x	13 to 19.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	161.5	143.2	1.13xSignificant	152.2 to 171.4	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.4	6.6	1.12x	5.5 to 9.8	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	506.9	453.4	1.12xSignificant	489.3 to 525.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.2	4.8	1.08x	3.7 to 7.2	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.4	8.7	1.08x	7.2 to 12	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.6	14.5	1.08x	12.6 to 19.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12	11.3	1.06x	9.6 to 14.9	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	6.9	6.6	1.05x	5 to 9.4	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.2	4.4	0.95x	2.7 to 6.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17	17.9	0.95x	13.8 to 20.9	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2.1	2.7	0.78x	1.2 to 3.6	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 Northumberland County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,225.5	9,842.6	-6%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.6	75.3	+0%	years
Child mortality	64.6	59.8	+8%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.7	6.2	-8%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	112.7	96.9	+16%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	42	28.6	+47%	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.

Formaldehyde17.03 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde1.74 per million
Benzene1.59 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit267
Rail grade crossing193
Air permit holder (minor source)102
Gas station (mapped facility)38
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)33
Small hazardous waste generator28
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)13
TRI reporting facility12
Brownfield property10
Large hazardous waste generator9
Major air pollution source8
Heliport5
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)5
Public airport4
Scrapyard (mapped facility)4
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Hazardous waste transporter3
Airfield2
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Coal 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.

Mount Carmel Cogen Facility, Marion Heights
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium And Barium Compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Vanadium (except when contained in an alloy), Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 501,317 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 17832FSTRWMARIO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.9
Truck Accessories Group. Llc Dba Tag East, Milton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 340,266 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 17847LRSTNBOX14 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
Cherokee Pharmaceuticals Llc., Riverside
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Dichloromethane, Methanol, Toluene, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size) and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 102,371 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 17868MRCKC100AV (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Jeraco Enterprises Inc/Milton Plt, Milton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 59,729 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1784WJRCNT135SD (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Truck Accessories Npdes Stormwater, Milton
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $22,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000603696 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Arcos Ind Llc/Mt Carmel Plt, Mount Carmel
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $283,556.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000334503 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.8
Hoeganaes Corp, Watsontown
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $17,950.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037441159 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.6
Watsontown Brick Co, Watsontown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen fluoride, Lead, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Manganese compounds. Reports carcinogens. 6,612 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 17777WTSNTRTE40 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Cherokee Pharm Llc/Riverside Boro Plt, Riverside
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000334530 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Mt Carmel Cogen/Culm Fired Cogen Plt, Marion Heights
Major air pollution source. Penalties $93,283.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059965131 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Arcos Industries Llc, Mount Carmel
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Tetrachloroethylene, Chromium, Manganese, Nickel and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 597 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 17851HSKNS1ARCO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Hoeganaes Corp, Watsontown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese compounds, Nickel, Zinc compounds, Hydrogen sulfide and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 292 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 17777HGNSCYURIS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Mt Carmel Cogen Plt, Marion Heights
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007026306 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Arcos Ind Llc/Mt Carmel Plt, Mount Carmel
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $283,556.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000334503 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Great Dane Trailers, Elysburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Manganese, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 130 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1782WGRTDN27PRG (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Foster Wheeler Mt Carmel Cogen, Marion Heights
Coal power plant.
Record ID 10343 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6
Jeraco Enterprises Inc/Milton Plt, Milton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006857909 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Keystone Forging Co., Northumberland
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Nickel, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 35 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 17857KYSTN215DU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Watsontown Brick Co/Watsontown Plt, Watsontown
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001065249 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Cherokee Pharm Llc/Riverside Boro Plt, Riverside
Major air pollution source. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000334530 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Gregg Twp Municipal Authority Stp, Allenwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $30,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009815833 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Great Dane Trailers, Elysburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067713870 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Milton Steel Co, Milton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Manganese compounds. 199 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 17847MLTNS6CANA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.8
Truck Accessories Npdes Stormwater, Milton
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $22,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000603696 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Resilite Sports Prod/Northumberland Plt, Northumberland
Major air pollution source. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041232715 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Northumberland County Prison, Coal, Township Of
EPA FRS registry ID
110070048477
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Northumberland 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 Northumberland 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 Northumberland County View on the heat map All Pennsylvania counties