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Monroe County, Alabama: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Monroe County is 166.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 306 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (120), Rail grade crossing (60), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (57). 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: 31.5291, -87.3822.

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 Monroe County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	36.3	30.2	1.2x	27.5 to 47.5	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	166.5	143.2	1.16xSignificant	145.3 to 190.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	16.1	13.9	1.16x	9.9 to 25.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	21.3	18.7	1.14x	14.4 to 30.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	54.2	51.8	1.05x	43.2 to 67.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.5	17.9	0.98x	11.3 to 26.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	442.6	453.4	0.98x	407 to 480.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	11.6	14.5	0.8x	6.4 to 19.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	13.8	18.5	0.75x	7.7 to 22.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	14	23.8	0.59x	8.3 to 22.7	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 Monroe County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,784.6	9,842.6	+60%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.8	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	95.7	96.9	-1%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	18.5	28.6	-35%	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.

Formaldehyde23.06 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.23 per million
Pahpom0.67 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge120
Rail grade crossing60
NPDES wastewater discharge permit57
Brownfield property22
Gas station (mapped facility)16
Air permit holder (minor source)8
Major air pollution source6
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Small hazardous waste generator2
Biomass power plant2
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1

Highest-severity records

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

Alabama River Cellulose Llc, Perdue Hill
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia, Manganese compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 25,064,474 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 36470LBMRVOFFHI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Alabama River Newsprint Co, Perdue Hill
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $30,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000589612 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9
Scotch Plywood Co Inc., Beatrice
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds. Reports carcinogens. 343 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 36425SCTCHHWY21 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Alabama River Newsprint Co, Perdue Hill
Major air pollution source. Penalties $30,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000589612 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Scotch Plywood Company, Beatrice
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007597519 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Alabama River Newsprint Co, Perdue Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $30,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000589612 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Alabama River Newsprint Co, Perdue Hill
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $30,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000589612 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Harrigan Lumber Company, Monroeville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001715369 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Alabama Railroad Co, Monroeville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010104038 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Harrigan Lumber Co Inc, Monroeville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds. 38 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 36460HRRGN1033H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.2
Monroeville Double Branch Wwtp, Monroeville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055980737 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Scotch Plywood Company, Beatrice
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007597519 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Stallworth Timber Co, Beatrice
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000493083 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Alabama River Newsprint Co, Perdue Hill
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $30,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000589612 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Harrigan Lumber Company, Monroeville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001715369 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Georgia-Pacific Panel Products Llc, Monroeville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007913623 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Georgia-Pacific Wood Products, Llc, Frisco City
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041182948 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Scotch Plywood Company, Beatrice
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007597519 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Monroe County Shop, Monroeville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022527265 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Monroeville, City Of - Vanity Fair Mill, Monroeville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071964229 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Owens Hardware, Monroeville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965210 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Georgia Pacific Mill, Peterman
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973895 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Monvil Park Add, Monroeville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973896 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Coliseum Area, Monroeville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973897 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Ollie'S Supermarket, Monroeville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973898 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3

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 Monroe 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 Monroe 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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