Why do people in the USA seem to have a higher occurrence rate of cancer?

Well this is just in my area but behind our local grocery store are some woods and me and my friend had been walking through there one day and we found a sign that said something about Uranium plant or something like that. We also have a toxic waste plant about 1/4 mile up the road from that sign and they have biohazardous materials buried there. It's fenced off and everything. Anyways, a few years ago i was on the bus and there were these elderly people talking about how everyone they know is getting cancer and I am just thinking that maybe it has something to do with that plant and the Uranium sign I saw. This is in Canonsburg, PA. I don't know if any other places have things like this but it makes me think of that movie Erin Brockovich, cause that's kinda what was going on in that movie. Maybe these chemicals are getting into the water supply.