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Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Westmoreland County is 150.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Non-Hodgkin lymphoma deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate and Esophagus deaths at 1.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,775 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (810), Small hazardous waste generator (224), Air permit holder (minor source) (167). 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: 40.3616, -79.3843.

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 Westmoreland County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	6.5	4.6	1.41xSignificant	5.6 to 7.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6	4.8	1.25xSignificant	5.2 to 7	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	4.6	3.7	1.24xSignificant	3.8 to 5.5	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	5	4.1	1.22xSignificant	4.3 to 5.9	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.7	5.7	1.18xSignificant	5.8 to 7.7	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	18.9	16.4	1.15x	14 to 25	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	14.7	13	1.13x	12.9 to 16.6	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.9	6.2	1.11x	5.7 to 8.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.2	2	1.1x	1.7 to 3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	32.6	30.2	1.08xSignificant	30.6 to 34.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.6	3.4	1.06x	2.9 to 4.4	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	150.6	143.2	1.05xSignificant	146.1 to 155.3	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	11.7	11.3	1.04x	10.5 to 13	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.5	4.4	1.02x	3.6 to 5.5	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	18.8	18.7	1.01x	17.3 to 20.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.9	13.9	1x	12.5 to 15.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	51.2	51.8	0.99x	48.6 to 53.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13.8	14.5	0.95x	12.3 to 15.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	417.4	453.4	0.92x	409.4 to 425.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16	17.9	0.89x	14.4 to 17.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.6	6.6	0.85x	4.8 to 6.6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.1	18.5	0.82x	13.6 to 16.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7	8.7	0.8x	6.1 to 8.1	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	16.1	23.8	0.68x	14.5 to 17.9	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	4.4	6.6	0.67x	3.7 to 5.3	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	1.8	2.7	0.67x	1.3 to 2.4	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 Westmoreland County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,506.5	9,842.6	-14%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.6	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	43.1	59.8	-28%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.3	6.2	-14%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	107.7	96.9	+11%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	41.8	28.6	+46%	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.

Formaldehyde17.44 per million
Benzene3.62 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Coke Oven Emissions2.77 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 362 days: 283 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 39, peak 126.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,775 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit810
Small hazardous waste generator224
Air permit holder (minor source)167
Rail grade crossing157
Gas station (mapped facility)96
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)60
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)40
Large hazardous waste generator38
TRI reporting facility32
Brownfield property30
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)29
Hazardous waste transporter27
Major air pollution source22
Large greenhouse gas emitter8
Landfill (mapped facility)8
Public airport6
Heliport6
Scrapyard (mapped facility)4
EPA air quality monitor2
Commercial airport2
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)2
Airfield1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Hydroelectric plant1
Gas power plant1
Solar 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.

Arcelormittal Monessen Coke Plant, Monessen
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $51,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000329118 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Max Env Tech/Yukon Fac, Yukon
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $28,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039581592 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Max Environmental -- Yukon Facility, Yukon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds, Cadmium compounds, Copper And Copper Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 30,431,235 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 15698MLLSRCEMET (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Ati Flat Rolled Products Holdings Llc, Vandergrift
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Hydrogen fluoride and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,480,937 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 15690SSVND130LI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.2
Latrobe Specialty Steel Co, Latrobe
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $9,627.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000330188 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.8
Cleveland-Cliffs Monessen Coke Llc, Monessen
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Ethylene, Benzene, Ammonia and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 244,731 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 15062MNSSN345DO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Alleima Precision Tube, Scottdale
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Trichloroethylene, Nitric acid, Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 171,142 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 15683TLDYNFRANK (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Duraloy Technologies Inc, Scottdale
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 35,773 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 15683BLWKNBRIDG (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Rq Resins Llc, Harrison City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Phthalic anhydride, Ethylbenzene, Methyl isobutyl ketone and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 30,557 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 15665WSTNGROUTE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Ati Flat Rolled Products Llc-Latrobe Plant, Latrobe
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel And Nickel Compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Lead And Lead Compounds and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 16,048 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 15650TLDYNROUTE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Latrobe Specialty Metals, Latrobe
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Molybdenum trioxide, Nickel And Nickel Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 10,270 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 15650LTRBS2626L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Arcelormittal Monessen Coke Plant, Monessen
Major air pollution source. Penalties $51,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000329118 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Braeburn Alloy Steel Rolling Mill Fac, Lower Burrell
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001045262 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Braeburn Alloy Steel Llc, Lower Burrell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Copper, Cobalt and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 2,386 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 1506WBRBRN11BRA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Allegheny Ludlum Corp, Vandergrift
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014402306 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.1
Lehigh Specialty Melting Inc, Latrobe
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Nickel And Nickel Compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 2,079 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 15650STNDR107GE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Westinghouse Electric Co, Blairsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid, Hydrogen fluoride. 163,120 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 15717WSTNGRD4BO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Arcelormittal Monessen Coke Plant, Monessen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $51,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000329118 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Max Env Tech/Yukon Fac, Yukon
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $28,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039581592 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Max Env Tech/Yukon Fac, Yukon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $28,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039581592 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Westinghouse Elec Co - Specialty Metals Plant, Blairsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000543573 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Alleima Precision Tube Llc, Scottdale
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000583315 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Latrobe Specialty Steel Co, Latrobe
Major air pollution source. Penalties $9,627.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000330188 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Dnp Imagingcomm America Corp, Mount Pleasant
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene. 67,161 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 15666SNYCH1001T (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Dura-Bond Steel Corp, Export
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Manganese. 58,910 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 15632DRBND2658J (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7

Correctional facilities

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

Westmoreland County Prison, Hempfield, Township Of
EPA FRS registry ID
110071897880
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland 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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