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Lawrence County, Alabama: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Lawrence County is 184.6 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 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 263 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (113), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (78), Rail grade crossing (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: 34.5397, -87.3182.

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 Lawrence County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	52.5	30.2	1.74xSignificant	43.9 to 62.5	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	9.8	6.6	1.48x	6.1 to 15.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	75.6	51.8	1.46xSignificant	64.9 to 87.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	7.9	5.7	1.39x	4.4 to 13.2	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	31.1	23.8	1.31x	23.6 to 40.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	184.6	143.2	1.29xSignificant	167.1 to 203.5	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	24	18.7	1.28x	18 to 31.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13.8	11.3	1.22x	9.5 to 19.7	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.2	8.7	1.06x	5.7 to 14.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	476.7	453.4	1.05x	447.4 to 507.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.6	17.9	1.04x	13.1 to 25.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.5	18.5	1x	12.9 to 25.7	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13.6	14.5	0.94x	8.8 to 20.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	10.7	13.9	0.77x	7 to 16	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 Lawrence County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,633.2	9,842.6	+39%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.1	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	60.8	59.8	+2%	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	101.2	96.9	+4%	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.

Formaldehyde23.64 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.44 per million
Acrylonitrile1.17 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 97 days: 89 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 30, peak 61.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge113
NPDES wastewater discharge permit78
Rail grade crossing37
Air permit holder (minor source)8
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Small hazardous waste generator4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Major air pollution source2
Public airport2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Large hazardous waste generator2
TRI reporting facility2
EPA air quality monitor1
Heliport1
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.

Nucor Tubular Products - Trinity, Trinity
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 15,956 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3567WNDPND2CPER (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
First Solar Inc., Trinity
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Cadmium And Cadmium Compounds. Reports carcinogens. 9,760 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3567WFRSTS1FIRS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
First Solar Inc., Trinity
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071675191 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.6
Independence Tube Corporation - Trinity, Trinity
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070070226 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
First Solar Inc., Trinity
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071675191 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
International Paper Courtland Mill, Courtland
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000589382 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Morris Farms Landfill, Hillsboro
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034185478 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company Aco, Courtland
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003035126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Resco Products Inc., Moulton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3565WRSCPR971AL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.2
International Paper Courtland Mill, Courtland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000589382 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Moulton Waste Water Treatment Plant, Moulton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001934060 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Morris Farms Landfill, Hillsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034185478 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
United Launch Alliance - Decatur Operations, Trinity
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Lead compounds, Copper And Copper Compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds and 1 more.
TRI facility ID 35602BNGC01001R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Mallard Fox West Wwtp, Trinity
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit AL0076708: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.9
Mallard Fox West Wwtp, Trinity
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020434975 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
International Paper Courtland Mill, Courtland
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000589382 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Morris Farms Landfill, Hillsboro
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034185478 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Talmage Nesmith Property, Hillsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $13,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071659536 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
First Solar Inc., Trinity
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071675191 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Kentucky Cooperage Lp, Ltd Dba Alabama, Trinity
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056990886 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Courtland, Courtland
Public airport. O.
Record ID 9A4 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company Aco, Courtland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003035126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Hatton High School Wwtp, Town Creek
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010074677 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Robert M. Hames Wtp, Hillsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022412254 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Kirby'S Auto Parts And Recycling, Trinity
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038108632 (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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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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