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Choctaw County, Alabama: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Choctaw County is 157.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 186 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (84), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (42), Rail grade crossing (32). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 32.0048, -88.286.

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 Choctaw County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	37.1	30.2	1.23x	26.8 to 51.3	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	157.8	143.2	1.1x	133.9 to 185.5	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.7	17.9	0.99x	9.7 to 30.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	44.1	51.8	0.85x	32.5 to 59.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	371.7	453.4	0.82x	332.6 to 414.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	19.5	23.8	0.82x	12.1 to 31.1	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 Choctaw County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,977.2	9,842.6	+32%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.1	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	122.6	96.9	+26%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde23.9 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde2.45 per million
Pahpom0.68 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge84
NPDES wastewater discharge permit42
Rail grade crossing32
Air permit holder (minor source)12
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Major air pollution source2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Public airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Brownfield property1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Biomass power plant1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Georgia-Pacific Naheola Llc, Pennington
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $90,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017428773 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Georgia-Pacific Naheola Llc, Pennington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Methanol, Hydrogen sulfide, Manganese compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 13,573,039 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 36916JMSRVROUTE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Georgia-Pacific Naheola Llc, Pennington
Major air pollution source. Penalties $90,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017428773 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Georgia-Pacific Naheola Llc, Pennington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $90,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017428773 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Georgia-Pacific Naheola Llc, Pennington
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $90,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017428773 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Georgia-Pacific Naheola Llc, Pennington
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $90,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017428773 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Barrytown Tank Battery, Gilbertown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056340776 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Wayne Banks Pallet Company, Gilbertown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037574540 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
H & D Scrapyard, Silas
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070603528 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Wayne Banks Pallet Company, Gilbertown
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110037574540 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Transco Station 85, Butler
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043570141 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Lisman Junior High School, Lisman
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977225 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Georgia-Pacific Naheola Llc, Pennington
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit AL0003301: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Crosbys Creek Oil & Gas Llc, Isney
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $30,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030743248 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Georgia-Pacific Consr Prods Lp-Naheola, Pennington
Biomass power plant.
Record ID 10699 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 2.6
Transco Station 85, Butler
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043570141 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Butler Wwtp, Butler
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056001213 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Gilbertown Water Resources Recovery Facility, Gilbertown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064854787 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
North Choctaw Wwtp, Lisman
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit AL0073270: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Gilbertown Water Resources Recovery Facility, Gilbertown
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit AL0082848: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.3
Pennington Wwtf, Pennington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016683837 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Buddy'S Sand And Gravel Plant 1, Butler
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070152064 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
North Choctaw Wwtp, Lisman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055979339 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Butler/Choctaw County, Butler
Public airport. O.
Record ID 09A (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Geo Specialty Chemicals, Pennington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007915667 (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.

Choctaw County Jail, Butler
EPA FRS registry ID
110071963233
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Choctaw 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 Choctaw 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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