AL / county FIPS 01019 / county research

Cherokee County, Alabama: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Cherokee County is 183.5 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 1.9 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 180 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (76), Industrial wastewater discharge (72), Gas station (mapped facility) (7). 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: 34.234, -85.6477.

How this county ranks in Alabama

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Cherokee County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	56.7	30.2	1.88xSignificant	47.2 to 68.1	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	183.5	143.2	1.28xSignificant	165 to 203.8	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	8.4	6.6	1.27x	4.7 to 14.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	63.8	51.8	1.23xSignificant	53.5 to 75.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18	17.9	1.01x	11.5 to 26.9	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	439.9	453.4	0.97x	408.8 to 473.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.4	18.7	0.93x	12.2 to 24.7	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.1	14.5	0.83x	7.5 to 18.9	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7	8.7	0.8x	3.8 to 12.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	18.8	23.8	0.79x	12.7 to 27.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	10.8	13.9	0.78x	6.9 to 16.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	7.6	11.3	0.67x	4.5 to 12.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	10.9	18.5	0.59x	6.9 to 17	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 Cherokee County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,680.9	9,842.6	+29%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.4	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	56.7	59.8	-5%	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	110.2	96.9	+14%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	19.6	28.6	-32%	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.

Formaldehyde23.92 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde2.47 per million
Benzene0.88 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit76
Industrial wastewater discharge72
Gas station (mapped facility)7
Rail grade crossing7
Air permit holder (minor source)3
Major air pollution source2
Public airport2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Hydroelectric plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Pemco International, Leesburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Nickel compounds, Manganese compounds, Copper compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 21,362 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 35983CHVTCEWING (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Kth Leesburg Products Llc, Leesburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017760458 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Pemco, Leesburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000607807 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Kth Leesburg Products Llc, Leesburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Copper. 681 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 35983KTHLS45IND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Cedar Bluff Oil Company, Cedar Bluff
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007403416 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Clayton And Kelley Auto Parts, Centre
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006652817 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Southeast Metal Recycling Llc, Centre
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038520044 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Three Corners Regional Landfill, Piedmont
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070691434 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Pemco, Leesburg
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000607807 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Alabama Belle Wwtp, Centre
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054908891 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Centre Lagoon, Centre
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002040363 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Cherokee County Wwtp, Leesburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055973255 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Three Corners Regional Landfill, Piedmont
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070691434 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Pemco, Leesburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000607807 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Cedar Bluff Wastewater Treatment Plant, Cedar Bluff
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010075088 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Sanford Springs Water Treatment Plant, Piedmont
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ALG640009: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Three Corners Regional Landfill, Piedmont
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070691434 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Centre Lagoon, Centre
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit AL0062723: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.7
Cherokee County Wwtp, Leesburg
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit AL0057592: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.5
Kth Leesburg Products Llc, Leesburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017760458 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Alabama Belle Wwtp, Centre
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit AL0081698: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.1
Cherokee Mine, Centre
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014338378 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Country Store, Cedar Bluff
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056125054 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Centre Piedmont/Cherokee County Rgnl, Centre
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID PYP (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Glen Williamson Water Treatment Plant, Centre
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055622349 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8

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 Cherokee 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 Cherokee 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.

Scan an address in Cherokee County View on the heat map All Alabama counties