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Dale County, Alabama: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Dale County is 162.7 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 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 352 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (118), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (91), 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: 31.4099, -85.6036.

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 Dale County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	46.3	30.2	1.53xSignificant	39.2 to 54.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	73.8	51.8	1.42xSignificant	64.8 to 83.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	14.8	11.3	1.31x	10.9 to 19.9	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	7.4	5.7	1.3x	4.8 to 11.1	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	5.1	4.1	1.24x	2.9 to 8.6	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.3	4.4	1.2x	3 to 8.8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	162.7	143.2	1.14xSignificant	148.8 to 177.5	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	25	23.8	1.05x	19.4 to 31.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.6	13.9	1.05x	10.7 to 19.6	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.3	6.2	1.02x	3.8 to 10	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	448.9	453.4	0.99x	425 to 473.8	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.8	18.7	0.95x	13.4 to 23.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.2	8.7	0.94x	5.2 to 12.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.9	6.6	0.89x	3.6 to 9.2	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	12.6	14.5	0.87x	8.7 to 17.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	15.5	17.9	0.87x	11.4 to 20.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.9	18.5	0.86x	11.6 to 21.3	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	10.1	13	0.78x	6.3 to 15.1	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 Dale County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,939	9,842.6	+21%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	56.5	59.8	-5%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7	6.2	+13%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	82.5	96.9	-15%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	16.2	28.6	-43%	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.

Formaldehyde23.85 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.44 per million
Pahpom0.8 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge118
NPDES wastewater discharge permit91
Rail grade crossing52
Gas station (mapped facility)26
Air permit holder (minor source)11
Heliport11
TRI reporting facility8
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)8
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)6
Small hazardous waste generator6
Major air pollution source4
Public airport4
Commercial airport2
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Solar power plant1
Scrapyard (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.

U.S. Army Aviation Center Of Excellence And Fort Novosel, Fort Rucker
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000719697 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.2
Us Army Aviation Center Of Excellence & Ft Rucker Firing Rng, Fort Rucker
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitroglycerin, Copper, Lead And Lead Compounds. 372,924 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 36362SVNCFNOVOS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Quality Fab Inc., Ariton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Manganese, Nickel, Lead and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,453 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3631WQLTYF8PWEL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Michelin Na Inc, Midland City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Cobalt And Cobalt Compounds, Cobalt compounds. Reports carcinogens. 1,296 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 36302MCHLNWAYEN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
U.S. Army Aviation Center Of Excellence And Fort Novosel, Fort Rucker
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000719697 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Arichem Llc, Ariton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene, Toluene, Chlorobenzene and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 181 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 36311SLSSNHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
U.S. Army Aviation Center Of Excellence And Fort Novosel, Fort Rucker
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000719697 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
U.S. Army Aviation Center Of Excellence And Fort Novosel, Fort Rucker
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000719697 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Quality Fab, Inc., Ariton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070281238 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Michelin North America, Inc., Midland City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056965253 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Pemco, Dothan
Major air pollution source. Penalties $16,920.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000865163 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Dothan Rgnl, Dothan
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID DHN (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Pemco, Dothan
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $16,920.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000865163 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Arichem Llc, Ariton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010380694 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.7
U.S. Army Aviation Center Of Excellence And Fort Novosel, Fort Rucker
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000719697 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Phillip'S Auto Recycling & Salvage, Inc, Ozark
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054138278 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
F & W Construction Co., Inc., Ozark
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055620252 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Prosol Inc., Ozark
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000589587 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Pilgrim'S Pride Corporation, Midland City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037574577 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ready Mix Usa Llc - Enterprise Plant, Enterprise
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055498215 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Michelin North America, Inc., Midland City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056965253 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Wayne Farms Llc - South Al Feed Mill, Ozark
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070244434 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ozark Southside Wwtp, Ozark
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041623954 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Commercial Jet, Inc., Dothan
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055359712 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Michelin North America, Inc., Midland City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056965253 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5

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 Dale 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 Dale 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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