Results
Control Counties
Counties with NPL Sites
Doña Ana County, New Mexico
In the Doña Ana County, New Mexico, the area is 3,814 miles squared and the population is 214,295. In such a small county, there is a single super fund site in the area that is active. The contaminants of the site that formed a water plume of 2,500 ft. by 4,000 ft. was tetrachloroethylene (PCE) that causes irritation of the skin, eyes, throat and it suspected that it causes different types of cancer. The contaminants were found in one of the multiple municipal supply wells. In our results from the data, it was found that there is a very high concentration of cancer in the county. This may have been caused due to the pollutants in the one of the water sources and the county is so small. Factors that may have caused the cancer rate to rise in comparison with the control average, 14.74 normalized cancer data to the square per mile population, is that the county is very small with a big population. There is most likely another cause to the high rates of cancer in the region than just the fund site because it is an outlier in the results.
Yamhill County, Oregon
In the county Yamhill, Oregon, the area of the county is two-hundred-and-sixty-nine acres and the population is 1,145 people. It is a very small county and contains one super fund site, active, and both the soil and the groundwater at the site suffer contamination. The contaminants found at the site are wood treating chemicals such as Creosote that causes irritation of the skin, damage to cornea, and can result in skin cancer. Another chemical used was Pentachlorophenol (PCP) that can cause the increase respiratory irritation, birth defects, heart problems, and can increase the likelihood of cancer. From the results of the data, average annual cancer count normalized by population per square mile, it was found that the county does have a medium rate of cancer of 3.597. This may have been caused by the contamination of both Creosote and Pentachlorophenol that is harmful to humans. The results may be skewed in comparison due to the control due to not taking into consideration when the chemicals were introduced in the area and at the time the cancer rates were measured in the county.
Jackson County, Missouri
The county Jackson, Missouri is located in the northeast side of the state. The area of the county is 616 square miles with the population being 687,632 citizens. It is a relative small county with two super fund sites, both are active, the soil and groundwater are contaminated due to hazardous wastes such lead, silver, mercury and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The results from the data that was calculated from the average annual cancer count normalized by population per square mile, 3.02, show that the cancer rates in this area are in the high end of the spectrum. This may be caused by the close proximity of the fund sites that contain VOCs and elements if consumed that is believed that can cause cancer. The result may be skewed in comparison from the controls due to not taking into account what kind of cancers may be, the listing of both sites were in the late 80’s, and that the area of the county is small and the results may seem high but in reality they are not.
Santa Clara County, California
The county of Santa Clara, California is located in "Silicon Valley." This county contains 23 super fund sites they are located in “Silicon Valley" and the area is 18341 squared miles. All of the sites have soil and groundwater contamination. Nineteen of the twenty-three sites are connected due having the Volatile Organic Compounds contaminate each site such as chemicals that are shared are trichloroethylene (TCE) that is harmful to human. For this county, it does have somewhat high concentration of cancer rates, 5.30 for all of the twenty-three sites averaged together, in this area may have increased the likelihood of cancer rates. The results may be skewed due to not taking in consideration the state is California and it is very polluted and high in car emissions.
Kings County, New York
In Kings County, New York there is a single super fund site and the area is 97 squared miles. More than a dozen contaminants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, poly-chlorinated biphenyls and heavy metals, including mercury, lead and copper, are found at high levels in the sediment in the Canal. Our analysis shows that no significant effects are seen in the average count of cancer cases in this county when compared to our control value of 0.097. The value of average annual cancer count normalized by population per square mile for this county is actually 0.31 and is actually lower. A possible reason why this trend is observed could be that the amount and or concentration of contaminants was not high enough to have great impact on cancer rates. However on March 4, 2010 the EPA put this site on the National Priorities List and remedial steps are still currently taking place. This suggests the possibility that the concentration of contaminants has increased to a level that could be deemed harmful and for this reason this site was placed on such list. However, not enough time may have passed to see negative effects.
Baltimore City County, Maryland
​The super fund site located in this county is found at 68th Street dump/industrial enterprises and from the 1950’s through the 1970’s accepted industrial and commercial wastes that contained hazardous wastes. The normalized value for this county was 0.61 and is larger than the control average, 0.097, . If a correlation exists between this super fund site and cancer rates, it could be caused by the vicinity of this dump site to residential areas. Hazardous substances detected at the site include volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, and poly-chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and metals. . The site is currently undergoing remedial design processes and detailed cleanup plans are being developed in the near future.
Newport News County, Virginia
The superfund site located in this county is the Fort Eustis (US ARMY), an installation originally established during World War I as a training center for Coast Artillery Corps units and balloonist school. This site consist of 8,200-acre land and Army acvities contamined sediment, surface water, soil, and ground water with hazardous chemicals. Many of these chemicals include volatile organics in the ground water beneath this place and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon contamination. In addition, explosives and munitions represent a risk to human health. The normalized value for this county is 0.31 which is not much higher than the control average value of 0.097. It is possible that this site was not located near populated zones and therefore no significant health effects concerning cancer rates has been observed. However, remedial investigations and remedy constructions are currently ongoing.
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
The area of the county is 185.23 miles squared and the population is 561,551 people. This county includes six superfund sites, but only three of them still active. Havertown PCP: According to EPA, The 12-acre Havertown PCP Superfund site is located in Havertown Township, Pennsylvania. From 1947 to 1991, National Wood Preservers operated a wood treatment facility at the site. The company reportedly poured liquid wastes on surface soil and disposed of liquid wastes in a well. The groundwater and several soil areas were contaminated with PCP, arsenic, dioxins, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and petroleum hydrocarbons. Lower Darby Creek Area: According to EPA, operated from the 1950s to the 1970s and closed in the mid-1970s. Wastes accepted included municipal, demolition and hospital wastes. Waste disposal practices contaminated soil, groundwater and fish tissue with hazardous chemicals. Investigations at both landfills are ongoing. Metro Container Corporation Trainer: According to EPA, The Metro Container Corporation Site was added to the National Priorities List (NPL), in March 2012.10.4 acres located at the southwest corner of 2nd and Price Streets. Soil and groundwater at the Metro Property is contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), inorganic elements, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are chemicals that have the ability to turn into vapors and gases, potentially affecting human health and the environment.
The value of average annual cancer count normalized by population per square mile for this county is 1.12 that is very higher than the control value of 0.097. There is a very high concentration of cancer in the county due to amount of pollutants in the water sources.
Peach County, Georgia
The area of the county is 151.35 miles squared and the population is 28311 people. This county includes two superfund sites, but only one of them still active. The Woolfolk Chemical Works, Inc: According to EPA, site is located in Fort Valley, Georgia. It includes an area where, beginning in 1910, several companies produced, packaged and stored herbicides and pesticides. EPA placed the site on the Superfund programs National Priorities List (NPL) in 1990 because of contaminated groundwater and soils resulting from facility operations. According to EPA, Site investigations found contamination in groundwater, soil, sediments and attic dust of nearby residences that could potentially harm people in the area. Contamination resulted from waste handling practices at the site. Therefor the value of average annual cancer count normalized by population per square mile for this county is 0.78 that is higher than the control value of 0.097.
Rock County, Wisconsin
The area of the county is 726.15 miles squared and the population is 160525 people. This county includes three superfund sites, but only two of them still active. JANESVILLE ASH BEDSJANESVILLE: According to EPA, The Janeville Disposal Facilities are located on a 65-acre parcel of land on Black Bridge Road in Rock County, Wisconsin. The Janesville Ash Beds site operated from 1974 to 1985. The primary contaminants in the groundwater were volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene, and vinyl chloride. JANESVILLE OLD LANDFILL JANESVILLE: According to EPA, The 18-acre Janesville Old Landfill operated from 1963 to 1978. A residential neighborhood is located about one-quarter mile to the east. The Old Landfill site is an abandoned sand and gravel pit that was used as a municipal sanitary landfill which also accepted drummed waste, including solvents, oil, paint, and paint thinners. The landfill also accepted dried sludge from another Superfund site called the Janesville Ash Beds.
The value of average annual cancer count normalized by population per square mile for this county is 4.00 that is very higher than the control value, 0.097. There is a very high concentration of cancer in the county due to amount of pollutants in soil and groundwater. According to EPA, Primary risks and pathways addressed by the cleanup include health risks from people ingesting or touching contaminants in soil and groundwater.
Montour County, Pennsylvania
This superfund site is known as the MW Manufacturing site. The MW Manufacturing site was originally a metal wire reclamation facility, using chemical processes to strip copper from scrap metal wire from 1966 to 1972. The site is in the center of Valley Township of Montour county, covering 20 acres of land. Sources of contamination are the site’s lagoon disposal, multiple drums of waste, designated waste piles, and an above ground waste tank. The groundwater in the area has been recorded to be contaminated with lead, copper, and other copper compounds. While the surface water has only been contaminated with high amounts of Lead. The average cancer count after being normalized by population per square mile for this county turned out to be 0.92, which is a notable increase in comparison to our control average of 0.097. This is most likely due to the actions of the current owner of the site, the EPA had dispatched a Consent Order to clean up the site back in 1986, and while the present owner did remove some materials, he has fallen short of the remount dictated by the provided Order. As of 2005 a groundwater clean up program was initiated along with an effort to remove all “fluff” (finely divided scrap wire), the latter was successful as of May 2005 while the former remains ongoing. By 2008, reports indicate that current treatments were reaching suitable protections rankings to achieve a long term protection of the groundwater within the area. Therefore while improvements have been slowly made, the slow response to the need for proper clean-up measures have certainly left a risk to the Valley Township, along with the rest of Montour County.
Kent County, Rhode Island
The Picillo Farm superfund site is a 7.5 acre plot land in Coventry Rhode Island. The site was discovered as an illegal dumping ground in 1977, located near a recreational reservoir the site was discovered when one of the illegally dumped drums of waste exploded. Within the discovered 15,000 drums of waste were slurries of oils, pesticides, paint sludges, and naturally explosive chemicals. The groundwater was recorded to have been contaminated with VOCS, toluene, xylene, benzene, and chloroform. While the surface water was contaminated with the nearly the same chemicals including acetone. Within the past five years an estimated cancer count after normalization was recorded as 1.095, which is significantly lower than our recorded average of 0.097. This below average result is most likely due to the multitude of clean up programs started by the EPA in 1980. Due to the dangerous nature of the waste the state spent a total $1.5 million in an effort to dig up and remove all the waste drums. Proper disposal of all the dumped drums was completed in 1982, leaving the EPA to reward the state $4,938,570 to finish disposal of any remaining drums and further remedial investigations to begin decontamination of the soil.
Rockland County, New York
The Picillo Farm superfund site is a 7.5 acre plot land in Coventry Rhode Island. The site was discovered as an illegal dumping ground in 1977, located near a recreational reservoir the site was discovered when one of the illegally dumped drums of waste exploded. Within the discovered 15,000 drums of waste were slurries of oils, pesticides, paint sludges, and naturally explosive chemicals. The groundwater was recorded to have been contaminated with VOCS, toluene, xylene, benzene, and chloroform. While the surface water was contaminated with the nearly the same chemicals including acetone. Within the past five years an estimated cancer count after normalization was recorded as 0.98, which is significantly lower than our recorded average of 0.097. This below average result is most likely due to the multitude of clean up programs started by the EPA in 1980. Due to the dangerous nature of the waste the state spent a total $1.5 million in an effort to dig up and remove all the waste drums. Proper disposal of all the dumped drums was completed in 1982, leaving the EPA to reward the state $4,938,570 to finish disposal of any remaining drums and further remedial investigations to begin decontamination of the soil.
Essesx County, New Jersey
Essex County is located in north eastern New Jersey. The county is 127.87 square miles in size and has a population of 808,285 people. Essex has a total of 10 superfund sites, 2 of which are no longer active. The site contamination sizes range from 1 acre to 10,880 acres. Majority of these sites were placed on the NPL around 1983-1990, some even newer but are also small in scale. However, two of the sites have been subjected to contamination since the early 1900s. Contamination from these manufacturing plants are either in the water supply or soil, or even both, and include: radium, tetrachloroethylene and others, mercury, volatile organic compounds, lead, and poly-chlorinated biphenyls.
According to the normalization rate of cancer rates to population per square mile, Essex lands relatively in the middle of the spectrum at 0.60. Compared to the control average value of 0.0967, the normalized value is higher control. This could be because of the length of time some of these sites were contaminated and the high population per square mile of the small county. Three of these sites took eighty years to establish clean-up, which could be directly correlated to the higher than average cancer rate of counties with no super fund sites.
Denver County, Colorado
Denver County is located in Colorado and is 155 square miles with a population of 704,621. The county has a total of three super fund sites, all of which are ongoing investigations. The size of the contamination are 56-3200 acres. Contamination include lead and arsenic, radioactive residue, and volatile organic compounds and have protruded into the soil and groundwater. Two of the sites have been active since 1991 and 2001 while the third has been on the Environmental Protection Agency National Priority List since 1983, but has contaminated soil of radioactive residue from the manufacturing plant in the early 1900s. However, the size of the affected area is relatively small, (1 to 4.4 acres). According to the normalization of the rate of cancer to population per square mile, Denver County is in the middle of the spectrum with a value of 0.60. Compared to the control value and the small number of super fund sites and the small acreage of contamination, Denver county is much higher. The cancer rates do not appear to directly correlate with super fund sites in this analysis.
York County, Virginia
In this County the Chisman Creek consists of four former sand and gravel pits located in the Virginia Peninsula. Past operations and disposal practices contaminated soil, sediment, groundwater and surface water with hazardous material. The Naval Weapons station and Nws Yorktown- cheatham annex superfund sites also contaminated the area in a similar way since 1943. This county has a normalized value of 0.454 which is higher than the average but not significantly higher. Cleaning and decontamination operations have been successful in the last decade. The Site Score fall in the intermediate range which suggests a significant level of contamination. Despite this numbers, residents have higher incidence of cancer compared to surrounding areas and this correlates positively with the number of superfund sites and the small size of this county.
Gaston County, North Carolina
This county contains four superfund sites:
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Davis Park Road TCE
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Hemphill Road TCE
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Jadco-hughes Facility
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North Belmont PCE
David Park Road TCE consists of a 20-acre site which includes residential and commercial areas affected by contaminated water. The Hemphill Road TCE (trichloroethylene) is has also contaminated ground water that has affected drinking water supplies. The Jadco-Huges Facility includes an area that from 1971 to 1975 was used as a solvent reclamation and storage facility for chemical waste drums. Lastly, The North Belmont PCE site includes an area where a dry cleaning business operated from 1960 to 1975 which resulted in ground water contamination due to bad waste handling practices at the site. Contamination from this site correlates with a high value for the normalized county value of 2.027 which is way greater than the average of 0.096. Consumption of contaminated groundwater has likely resulted in a variety of cancers amongst the population throughout the years.
Portsmouth County, Virginia
Portsmouth County contains four superfund sites:
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Abex Copr
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Atlantic Wood Industries, Inc
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Norfolk Naval Shipyard
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Rick Iron and Metal
The Abex Corporation railroad products operated a brass and bronze foundry from 1928 to 1978. The size of affected area is 1-acre. This resulted in significant soil contamination with Lead, Cadmium,Copper,Nickel and other toxic metals. The Atlantic Wood Industries is approximately 50 acres of land on the industrialized waterfront of Portsmouth, Virginia and, over 30 acres of constaminated sediments in the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River. The main source of contamination occurred from treatment operation, storage of treated wood and disposal wastes.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s operations and disposal practices contaminated soil, sediment, surface water and underground water with hazardous chemicals. Similarly, the Rick Iron and Metal 33-acre site contaminated soil and groundwater with PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyls) and metals. The contamination may be correlated to a normalized cancer rate value (0.188255002) higher than the control value of 0.096. Many remedial activities have been conducted through the years to try and clean contaminated soil/sediment and prevent further contamination of groundwater. The efforts seem to have contained the effects to a lower level that would otherwise would have been way worse for residents of this area.
Newport County, Rhode Island
​The site located in this county is the Newport Naval Education and Training Center and was used as a refueling depot from 1900 to mid-1970’s by the Navy. Groundwater is contaminated with petroleum products and metals, including lead, volatile organic compounds, and poly-chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). This site is 1063 acres and located on the west coast of Aquidneck Island in Portsmouth Middletown and Newport, RI. The normalized value for this county is 0.31 and is slightly higher than the control average, 0.097, but not enough to suggest there is a direct correlation between the site and cancer rates.
Hampton County, Virginia
Hampton County, VA spans through the city of Hampton, VA and contains 1 active superfund site, Langley Air Force Base/NASA Langley Research Center. This massive 3,152-acre superfund site is an airfield and aeronautical research center for the Air Force. The site activities have lead to the pollution of soil, groundwater, sediment, and fish in the area and caused for a contamination involving varying carcinogens. The normalized average cancer count for this site is 0.269 which is about 2.5 times the control average of 0.097. This infers that the waste dump of one superfund site could plausibly lead to the increase of the cancer statistic.
Norfolk County, Virginia
Norfolk County, VA spans the city of Norfolk, VA and contains 1 active superfund site, Norfolk Naval Base. This large site is roughly 4,630 acres large and was a facility for Navy vessel and aircraft logistics. Waste generated by the site like paints, oils, and lubricants contaminated the soil, sediment, and groundwater in the area. This lead to many petroleum related chemical waste hazards to cause pollution of the area with potential carcinogens like TCE, DCE, and arsenic. The normalized average cancer count 0.238 which is roughly 2.5 times the control average count at 0.097. This pollution from this one superfund site potentially led to an increase in the cancer statistic in this county.
Harris County, Texas
Harris County is a large county with 13 active superfund sites and 2 deleted sites. Contamination at this superfund sites is usually caused by industries that contaminated soil, sediments and groundwater. Contaminant range from low danger chemicals to carcinogenic ones such as arsenic. It is not surprising to see such a high number of superfund sites in this county since Houston has become one the largest and most industrialized cities in the United States. Industries include oil processors, manufactures, chemical plants, waste disposal, and much more. By analyzing the map layout of Harris County, it’s clear that most of the superfund sites are found near the ship channel in Houston. This is no coincidence as many industries have been operating in this area for many decades due to quick access to the channel. Also, those sites closer to the channel have a site score generally higher than sites closer to the city of Houston. This observation may indicate that residents in those areas near Pasadena,TX, Baytown, and East Houston may be at a higher risk of health problems.Finally, Harris County has a normalized cancer rate value of 6.3 which is hay higher than the average of 0.097. The higher value correlates positively with the higher number of superfund sites and their proximity to residential zones.
Hudson County, New Jersey
Hudson County spans Kearny and Hoboken, NJ and contains 5 superfund sites (4 active, 1 deleted). The superfund sites involve hazardous waste due to industrial processes and the range of chemicals spilled is large with many carcinogenic chemicals such as arsenic, TCE, and DCE. Waste known to have contaminated soil, groundwater, buildings, and some fish in the areas of waste pollution. Hudson County has a normalized average cancer count of 0.174 which is close to double the control of 0.097, so while it isn’t an extreme value, it is a noticeable raise in the average count compared to the control.
San Francisco County, California
San Francisco County, CA spans through most of the city of San Francisco, CA and contains 1 active superfund site known as the Treasure Island Naval Station. This 866- acre site was a shipyard and housed the National Radiological Defense Laboratory (NDRL) which lead a lot of waste being produced from both of those Navy operations that entered the soil, groundwater, and buildings. Due to the nature of both operations dumping waste, the list of hazardous chemicals involved in the contamination is a long list of varying carcinogenic ability. From this one superfund site, the average cancer count for this county is 0.227 which is about 2.5 times the count of the control at 0.097 meaning this one massive dumping ground probably played a role in the cancer statistics.
