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Madison County, Alabama: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Madison County is 138.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Bladder deaths at 1.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 2,721 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (1,182), Industrial wastewater discharge (944), Gas station (mapped facility) (163). 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: 34.733, -86.5722.

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 Madison County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	Deaths	5.1	4.1	1.24xSignificant	4.2 to 6.1	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.4	2	1.2x	1.8 to 3.1	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	18.3	16.4	1.12x	14.1 to 23.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.1	6.6	1.08x	6.1 to 8.2	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.9	17.9	1.06x	17.1 to 20.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23.9	23.8	1x	21.9 to 26	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.5	18.7	0.99x	16.8 to 20.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.6	5.7	0.98x	4.7 to 6.7	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.5	8.7	0.98x	7.4 to 9.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	138.6	143.2	0.97x	133.8 to 143.5	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.2	4.4	0.95x	3.4 to 5.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	49.4	51.8	0.95x	46.6 to 52.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.8	30.2	0.95x	26.7 to 31	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	10.5	11.3	0.93x	9.2 to 11.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	12.8	13.9	0.92x	11.4 to 14.3	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.6	6.2	0.9x	4.6 to 6.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	405.6	453.4	0.89x	397.3 to 414	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2.4	2.7	0.89x	1.8 to 3.1	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	4	4.6	0.87x	3.3 to 4.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4	4.8	0.83x	3.2 to 5	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.4	18.5	0.83x	13.8 to 17.2	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	10.1	13	0.78x	8.8 to 11.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	2.6	3.4	0.76x	2 to 3.4	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	4.8	6.6	0.73x	4 to 5.8	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	2.6	3.7	0.7x	2 to 3.4	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	9.8	14.5	0.68x	8.5 to 11.3	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 Madison County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,054.2	9,842.6	-8%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.5	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	57	59.8	-5%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.2	6.2	-1%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	76.3	96.9	-21%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	28.9	28.6	+1%	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.

Formaldehyde24.36 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde2.41 per million
Benzene1.08 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 263 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 42, peak 78.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

2,721 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit1,182
Industrial wastewater discharge944
Gas station (mapped facility)163
Small hazardous waste generator100
Rail grade crossing87
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)53
Air permit holder (minor source)45
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)34
TRI reporting facility25
Large hazardous waste generator21
Major air pollution source15
Public airport8
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)7
Scrapyard (mapped facility)7
EPA air quality monitor4
Hazardous waste transporter4
Heliport4
Landfill (mapped facility)4
Commercial airport3
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Brownfield property2
Crematorium (mapped facility)1
Solar power plant1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Redstone Arsenal (USARMY/NASA), Huntsville
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID AL7210020742 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Kennametal Inc Dba Kennametal Firth Sterling, Huntsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Hydrogen sulfide, Cobalt And Cobalt Compounds, Nickel And Nickel Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 6,446,755 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 35806TLDYN7300H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.7
Kohler Company, Huntsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000368147 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.5
Us Army Garrison-Redstone, Huntsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Asbestos (friable), Chlorine, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1,940,691 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 35898SDDSRBUILD (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Kohler Co, Huntsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Lead And Lead Compounds. Reports carcinogens. 1,478,114 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 35824STRLN176CO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.2
National Copper & Smelting Co, Huntsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Trichloroethylene, Dichloromethane, Copper. Reports carcinogens. 204,844 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 35811NTNLC3333S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Hart & Cooley Llc, Huntsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Chromium, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 127,272 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 35811TTTLB4910M (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Mesker Mbm Lp. Huntsville, Huntsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Copper, Nickel, Manganese and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 69,935 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 35811MSKRD3440S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
George C Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Arsenal
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $8,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000601947 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.9
Nasa Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Nickel, Copper, Chromium and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 23,220 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 35812NSMRSMARSH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Basf Mobile Emissions Catalysts Llc, Huntsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitric acid, Copper And Copper Compounds, Barium And Barium Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 9,672 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 35806NGLHR9800K (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Tdy Industries Llc - Ati Firth Sterling, Huntsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056958118 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Gannet Biochem, Huntsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Dichloromethane, Acetonitrile, Methyl tert-butyl ether. Reports carcinogens. 3,281 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 35801NKTRT1112C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
American Carbonyl, Huntsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Iron pentacarbonyl. 231,141 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 35898GFCHMBUILD (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Us Army - Redstone Arsenal Garrison, Huntsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001147394 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Sanmina-Sci, Huntsville
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $8,920.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000608593 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Kohler Company, Huntsville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000368147 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Saint-Gobain Industrial Ceramics, Huntsville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003032316 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama Inc., Huntsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Copper, Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 292 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 35810TYTMT1CTTN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Kennametal Inc Dba Kennametal Firth Sterling, Gurley
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Cobalt. Reports carcinogens. 253 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 35748TLDYNHWY72 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Remington Arms Company, Llc, Huntsville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000368049 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Isp Chemicals Inc, Huntsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056966092 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Hart & Cooley Inc, Huntsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009456427 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Norris Cylinder Co, Huntsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: N,N-Dimethylformamide, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 90 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 35803CYNCY521GR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
Kohler Company, Huntsville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000368147 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6

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 Madison 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 Madison 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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