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Covington County, Alabama: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Covington County is 181.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Brain & nervous system deaths at 2 times the U.S. rate and Kidney & renal pelvis deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 356 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (150), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (101), Rail grade crossing (52). 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: 31.2668, -86.4472.

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 Covington County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	8.8	4.4	2xSignificant	5.3 to 13.8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	6	3.4	1.76xSignificant	3.5 to 9.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	46.3	30.2	1.53xSignificant	38.8 to 54.9	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	8.8	6.2	1.42x	5.3 to 13.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6.3	4.8	1.31x	3.6 to 10.6	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	181.9	143.2	1.27xSignificant	166.5 to 198.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	64.5	51.8	1.25xSignificant	55.6 to 74.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12	11.3	1.06x	8.5 to 16.8	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	22.9	23.8	0.96x	16.9 to 30.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.7	17.9	0.93x	11.7 to 23.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.1	6.6	0.92x	3.6 to 9.8	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	399	453.4	0.88x	374.5 to 424.8	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	5.5	6.6	0.83x	3.2 to 9.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	11.1	13.9	0.8x	7.6 to 15.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.3	18.5	0.77x	9.9 to 20.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	14.3	18.7	0.76x	10.2 to 19.7	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	9.9	13	0.76x	5.8 to 15.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	5.6	8.7	0.64x	3.1 to 9.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	6.4	14.5	0.44x	3.7 to 10.7	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 Covington County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,664.2	9,842.6	+49%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.6	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	72.9	59.8	+22%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.7	6.2	+8%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	104.8	96.9	+8%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	22.3	28.6	-22%	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.

Formaldehyde23.42 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.31 per million
Pahpom0.73 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge150
NPDES wastewater discharge permit101
Rail grade crossing52
Air permit holder (minor source)13
Gas station (mapped facility)12
Major air pollution source6
Small hazardous waste generator4
Brownfield property3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Public airport2
Hydroelectric plant2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
Gas power plant1
TRI reporting facility1
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.

Mfg Alabama Llc, Opp
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 42,427 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 36467MLDDF2HATT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Arclin Usa Llc, Andalusia
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Ammonia, Formaldehyde, Phenol and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 35,901 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 36476CHMBNHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Mfg/Alabama Llc - Plant 2, Opp
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 8,252 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 36467MLDDF18361 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Arclin Usa Llc, Andalusia
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $13,966.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056954880 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Halifax Petroleum, Llc, Brooklyn
Major air pollution source. Penalties $20,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070507647 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Mcneil, Inc.-Florala, Florala
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010107384 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Florala Airport Access Road, Florala
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013812491 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Bullard Concrete Facility - Florala, Florala
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071436808 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Arclin Usa Llc, Andalusia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $13,966.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056954880 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, Florala
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002043155 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Mcwilliams, Gantt
Gas power plant.
Record ID 533 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.7
Mcwilliams Power Plant, Andalusia
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020517957 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Molded Fiber Glass Alabama Llc, Opp
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110023092687 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Molded Fiber Glass Alabama Plant 2, Opp
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039130124 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Opp Westside Wwtp, Opp
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055973022 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Aquatic Leisure Technologies, Inc., Opp
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID x71b22de3fadc74ca9c9039140578c6ee (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, Florala
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002043155 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Gold Toe Corporation, Andalusia
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006795192 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Alatex Mill (New Mill Section Formerly), Andalusia
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071970391 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Cup Of Hope, Opp
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976261 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Andalusia Riverside Wastewater Treatment Plant, Andalusia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000713069 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Mcwilliams Power Plant, Andalusia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020517957 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Molded Fiber Glass Alabama Llc, Opp
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110023092687 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Molded Fiber Glass Alabama Plant 2, Opp
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039130124 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Lockhart/Florala Wwtp, Lockhart
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010114866 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8

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 Covington 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 Covington 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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