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Lee County, Alabama: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Lee County is 151.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Leukemia deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,260 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (597), Industrial wastewater discharge (406), Gas station (mapped facility) (83). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 40 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: 32.5781, -85.3624.

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 Lee County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	Deaths	7.6	5.7	1.33xSignificant	5.8 to 9.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.3	3.4	1.26x	3 to 5.9	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.3	2	1.15x	1.4 to 3.6	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.8	4.4	1.09x	3.5 to 6.5	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	2.9	2.7	1.07x	1.9 to 4.3	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	4.4	4.1	1.07x	3.1 to 6.2	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	151.2	143.2	1.06x	143 to 159.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	30.7	30.2	1.02x	27.2 to 34.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	11	11.3	0.97x	8.9 to 13.5	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.9	6.2	0.95x	4.4 to 7.9	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	15.6	16.4	0.95x	10 to 23.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	15.6	17.9	0.87x	13 to 18.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	42.6	51.8	0.82x	38.4 to 47.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	11.4	13.9	0.82x	9.2 to 14	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	3	3.7	0.81x	2 to 4.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	364.9	453.4	0.8x	352.2 to 377.9	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	5.3	6.6	0.8x	3.9 to 7.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.2	6.6	0.79x	3.8 to 6.9	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	3.6	4.8	0.75x	2.5 to 5.2	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	13.8	18.7	0.74x	11.4 to 16.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6	8.7	0.69x	4.4 to 7.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	9.5	14.5	0.66x	7.5 to 11.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	10.8	18.5	0.58x	8.7 to 13.3	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	2.6	4.6	0.57x	1.6 to 3.9	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	6.1	13	0.47x	4.5 to 8.1	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	10.8	23.8	0.45x	8.8 to 13.3	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 Lee County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,894.5	9,842.6	-20%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.1	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	59.3	59.8	-1%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.5	6.2	+5%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	64.6	96.9	-33%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	12	28.6	-58%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 40 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde26.23 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.88 per million
Acetaldehyde2.51 per million
Pahpom0.97 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,260 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit597
Industrial wastewater discharge406
Gas station (mapped facility)83
Rail grade crossing66
Air permit holder (minor source)22
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)22
Small hazardous waste generator15
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)11
Major air pollution source8
TRI reporting facility8
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)4
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Heliport3
Crematorium (mapped facility)2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Gas power plant2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Hydroelectric plant1
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.

Gambro Renal Products Inc., Opelika
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, Diisocyanates. 106,820 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3680WGMBRR111JE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
West Fraser Opelika Mill, Opelika
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol. 79,681 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 36801NTRNT2100I (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Ge Aerospace Auburn, Auburn
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Cobalt, Nickel, Chromium, Copper. Reports carcinogens. 576 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3683WGVTNB24INN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Dudley Lumber Co, Salem
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 415 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 36874DDLYL8775H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Heidelberg Materials Southeast Agg Llc - Twin City Plant, Auburn
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds. Reports carcinogens. 3 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3683WSHRMN214TW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5
H Allen Franklin Combined Cycle, Smiths
Gas power plant.
Record ID 7710 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4.9
Ge Aviation Auburn, Auburn
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055420913 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.9
Dudley Lumber Co Inc, Salem
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012705607 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Auburn University, Auburn
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064239051 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Argos Auburn Concrete Plant, Auburn
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 36830LFRGB32BEE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.7
Briggs & Stratton Corp., Auburn
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000369690 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Briggs & Stratton Llc, Auburn
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Lead And Lead Compounds. 52 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 36830BRGGS150TE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.3
Opelika Westside Wwtp, Opelika
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006644630 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Mims Recycling & Salvage, Llc, Auburn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063719141 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Donaldson Company, Inc., Auburn
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110057461624 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.1
Heidelberg Materials, Concrete, Auburn
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006552408 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Lafarge Auburn Concrete Plant, Auburn
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024887096 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ready Mix Usa Llc, Opelika
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025360455 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ready Mix Usa, Llc-Auburn Facility, Auburn
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046316198 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Custom Concrete Walls - Waverly, Waverly
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070569542 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Bfgoodrich Tire Manufacturing, Opelika
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000369663 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Masterbrand Cabinets Inc, Auburn
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000369707 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Salem Landfill, Opelika
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001713334 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
West Fraser, Inc., Opelika
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003033155 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
South Eastern Electric Development Corp, Smiths
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007348343 (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 Lee 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 Lee 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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