Garbage Patch
Dead Zone
PFAS / Industrial
Algal Bloom
Petrochemical
Radioactive Legacy
Coastal state cancer overlay
Age-adjusted all-site cancer incidence (per 100,000), with the specific elevations researchers tie to nearby marine pollution. National all-site average ≈ 442.3.
| State | Coast | All-site / 100k | Notable elevation | Nearest hotspot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | Atlantic | 488.7 | Bladder +28% (arsenic + PFAS in wells) | Atlantic PFAS plumes |
| Rhode Island | Atlantic | 487.7 | Bladder +30% (highest US) | Narragansett Bay |
| Louisiana | Gulf | 481.5 | Lung +21%, larynx +35% (Cancer Alley) | Gulf Dead Zone, Houston Channel |
| New York | Atlantic | 480.9 | Long Island breast cancer cluster | Long Island Sound |
| Delaware | Atlantic | 478.4 | Lung & colorectal elevated | Delaware Bay industrial |
| Connecticut | Atlantic | 478.4 | Bladder elevated, breast clusters | Long Island Sound |
| New Hampshire | Atlantic | 478.2 | Bladder +25%, breast elevated | Pease AFB PFAS |
| New Jersey | Atlantic | 477.6 | Bladder +20%, mesothelioma elevated | NY Bight, PFAS plumes |
| Massachusetts | Atlantic | 469.6 | Cape Cod breast cancer cluster | Cape Cod PFAS (JBCC) |
| Mississippi | Gulf | 462.7 | Lung +18%, cervical elevated | Gulf Dead Zone |
| South Carolina | Atlantic | 460.1 | Lung & prostate elevated | Charleston Harbor |
| North Carolina | Atlantic | 459.3 | Kidney +12% near Cape Fear | Cape Fear PFAS plume |
| Alabama | Gulf | 458.9 | Mobile Bay industrial discharge | Gulf Dead Zone |
| Georgia | Atlantic | 455.6 | Brunswick Superfund cluster | Brunswick / LCP Chemicals |
| Maryland | Atlantic | 451.0 | Liver elevated in watermen counties | Chesapeake Bay |
| Alaska | Pacific | 449.7 | Subsistence diet POP burden | Bering Sea plastics drift |
| Florida | Atlantic/Gulf | 445.7 | Gulf coast lung elevated; red tide exposure | Tampa Bay, Piney Point |
| Washington | Pacific | 440.5 | Salish tribes liver/stomach elevated | Puget Sound, Hanford |
| Virginia | Atlantic | 433.4 | Hampton Roads PFAS clusters | Chesapeake Bay |
| Oregon | Pacific | 433.0 | Columbia plume tribal cancer rates | Columbia River / Hanford |
| Texas | Gulf | 432.0 | Childhood leukemia +22% near ship channel | Houston Ship Channel |
| California | Pacific | 422.0 | Richmond multiple myeloma cluster | SF Bay, Pacific gyre fish |
How pollutants reach people
- Seafood bioaccumulation — mercury, PCBs, PFAS, microplastics climb the food chain.
- Sea-spray aerosols — PFAS, brevetoxin, and microplastic fibers become inhalable within 1–3 km of shore.
- Drinking water intakes — coastal aquifers and river intakes pull from the same polluted watersheds.
- Recreational exposure — swimming, surfing, and shellfish harvesting in advisory zones.
The strongest signals
- PFAS → kidney & testicular cancer (IARC Group 1, 2023). Hotspots: Cape Fear, Cape Cod, Pease AFB.
- Benzene → leukemia. Hotspots: Houston Ship Channel, Cancer Alley.
- PCBs → liver, melanoma, NHL. Hotspots: Hudson, Puget Sound, Chesapeake.
- Microcystin → liver (IARC 2B). Hotspots: Chesapeake, Lake Erie, FL inland.
- Methylmercury → suspected co-carcinogen. Hotspots: SF Bay, Alaska subsistence fisheries.
Caveats
Coastal state cancer incidence reflects many overlapping drivers — age structure, smoking, screening density, access to care, and occupational exposures — not just ocean pollution. The overlay is useful for hypothesis generation, not attribution. Sources: CDC USCS, EPA NATA & TRI, NOAA HAB Reports, IARC Monographs, NIEHS, USGS National Water Quality Assessment.