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Bennington County, Vermont: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Bennington County is 156.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Brain & nervous system deaths at 1.9 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 279 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (95), Rail grade crossing (69), Brownfield property (30). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 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: 43.0269, -73.1354.

How this county ranks in Vermont

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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 Bennington County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	8.2	4.4	1.86xSignificant	4.6 to 13.5	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	16.7	13	1.28x	11.1 to 24.1	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	30.3	23.8	1.27x	23.8 to 38.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	23.5	18.7	1.26x	18.6 to 29.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	37.5	30.2	1.24xSignificant	30.9 to 45.3	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.7	4.6	1.24x	3.1 to 9.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	22.1	18.5	1.19x	16.8 to 28.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.5	13.9	1.12x	11.1 to 21.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.5	11.3	1.11x	8.6 to 17.8	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.8	6.2	1.1x	3.7 to 11.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	156.3	143.2	1.09x	142.1 to 171.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	56.4	51.8	1.09x	48.5 to 65.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	448.5	453.4	0.99x	423.1 to 475.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.3	6.6	0.95x	3.7 to 10.4	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	12.5	14.5	0.86x	8.7 to 17.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	14.7	17.9	0.82x	10.1 to 20.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6	8.7	0.69x	3.5 to 10.1	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 Bennington County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,728.4	9,842.6	-11%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.7	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	n/a	6.2	n/a	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	111	96.9	+14%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	43.6	28.6	+53%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde12.15 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde1.19 per million
Benzene0.92 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 360 days: 301 good, 2 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 37, peak 122.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit95
Rail grade crossing69
Brownfield property30
Gas station (mapped facility)27
Air permit holder (minor source)16
Small hazardous waste generator13
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Superfund (NPL) site4
Large hazardous waste generator2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Solar power plant2
Wind power plant2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Hydroelectric plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

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

Burgess Brothers Landfill, Woodford
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 52.6. NPL Site.
EPA site ID VTD003965415 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Jard Company, Inc., Bennington
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 58.3. NPL Site.
EPA site ID VTD048141741 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Pownal Tannery, Pownal
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID VTD069910354 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Bennington Municipal Sanitary Landfill, Bennington
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 49.1. NPL Site.
EPA site ID VTD981064223 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Tansitor Electronics Inc, Bennington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol, 1-Bromopropane, Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds. Reports carcinogens. 13,070 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 05201TNSTRWESTR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Bennington Wastewater Treatment Facility, Bennington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016709757 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Vishay Tansitor Electronics, Bennington
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007400963 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Energizer Manufacturing Inc, Bennington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Silver And Silver Compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds. 121 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 05201VRDYB401GA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
Bennington Water Treatment Facility, Woodford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017753402 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Office Building Cooling Water Discharge, Bennington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043452894 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Savdas Inc - Bennington Speedy Mart, Bennington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071525259 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Bennington Wastewater Treatment Facility, Bennington
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110016709757 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Morse Airport - State of Vermont Property, Bennington
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 500030004 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 3.5
Arlington School, Arlington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021591366 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Jard Company, Inc., Bennington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007400856 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Pownal Landfill, Pownal
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012555760 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lauzon Machine And Engineering, Bennington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018899254 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ps Service Station, Former Hess Station, Arlington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038696970 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Polygraphic Company Of America, North Bennington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038696989 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
North Dorset Gas Station, East Dorset
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038706157 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Commercial Property, Pownal
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038706166 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Stanley Tools, Shaftsbury
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038753514 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Readsboro Masonic Hall, Readsboro
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038756502 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Alcaro Motors, Bennington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040218635 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Vermont Tissue South, Bennington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040402445 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 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 Bennington County

Vermont 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 Bennington County, and their findings.
Vermont vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Vermont health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Vermont 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.
Vermont 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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