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Blount County, Alabama: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Blount County is 162.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 380 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (169), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (128), Gas station (mapped facility) (37). 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: 34.0127, -86.5337.

How this county ranks in Alabama

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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 Blount County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	Deaths	5.1	3.7	1.38x	3.2 to 7.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41.6	30.2	1.38xSignificant	35.6 to 48.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	68.6	51.8	1.32xSignificant	60.8 to 77.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	11.5	8.7	1.32x	8.4 to 15.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.7	6.6	1.32x	6 to 12.3	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.5	4.4	1.25x	3.2 to 8.7	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	162.1	143.2	1.13xSignificant	149.7 to 175.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7	6.2	1.13x	4.4 to 10.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.3	11.3	1.09x	9.1 to 16.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	15	13.9	1.08x	11.3 to 19.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.4	17.9	1.03x	14.1 to 23.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.8	18.7	1.01x	14.8 to 23.7	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.6	5.7	0.98x	3.5 to 8.6	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	4.5	4.6	0.98x	2.6 to 7.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	430.6	453.4	0.95x	409.7 to 452.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.7	23.8	0.91x	17.1 to 27.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.7	18.5	0.9x	12.7 to 21.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.7	14.5	0.88x	9.3 to 17.1	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11	13	0.85x	7.5 to 15.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4	4.8	0.83x	2.2 to 6.6	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	4.1	6.6	0.62x	2.4 to 6.8	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 Blount County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,898.1	9,842.6	+21%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.9	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	58	59.8	-3%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8	6.2	+30%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	98.3	96.9	+1%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	23.8	28.6	-17%	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.

Formaldehyde25.04 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde2.43 per million
Benzene0.85 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

No EPA air quality monitor reports daily AQI for this county.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge169
NPDES wastewater discharge permit128
Gas station (mapped facility)37
Air permit holder (minor source)14
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)10
Small hazardous waste generator7
Rail grade crossing5
Public airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)1
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)1

Highest-severity records

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

Tyson Farms Inc. - Blountsville Processing Plant, Blountsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia, Peracetic acid. 3,889,609 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 35031TYSNFHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Tyson Foods Inc Blountsville Processing Plant, Blountsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000366112 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Louis Allis, Llc, Warrior
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070791860 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Birdsong Industries, Inc., Oneonta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006792685 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Diversified Fabricating Inc, Oneonta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006795067 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Midway Used Auto Sales & Used Parts, Oneonta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013742771 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Stephens Pipe And Steel Llc, Warrior
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038520026 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
R&T Tire Landfill, Trafford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071093461 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Oneonta Wwtp, Allgood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055979008 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Tyson Foods Inc Blountsville Processing Plant, Blountsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000366112 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Blountsville Processing, Blountsville
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit AL0001449: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Tyson Foods Inc Blountsville Processing Plant, Blountsville
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000366112 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Lkq Birmingham, Trafford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $250,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059791113 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Brooksville Borrow Pit, Blountsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063918710 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Red Valley Cir - Hughes, Remlap
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071409048 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Mulvehill Property, Warrior
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $62,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071880837 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Nectar Water Treatment Plant, Nectar
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit AL0053074: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Cleveland Wwtp, Cleveland
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit AL0073261: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.3
Mine #1, Oneonta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055621947 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Duffy Quarry, Hayden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009122840 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Blountsville Hcr System, Blountsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055979133 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Triple D Ranch - Kelsoe Road Site, Oneonta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071364427 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Robbins Fld, Oneonta
Public airport. O.
Record ID 20A (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Clothing Care Cleaners, Oneonta
Dry cleaner (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1231453491 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1340677915 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2

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 Blount County

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