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Ashley County, Arkansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Ashley County is 172.9 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 252 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (106), Industrial wastewater discharge (59), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (39). 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: 33.2025, -91.7957.

How this county ranks in Arkansas

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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 Ashley County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	28.2	17.9	1.58xSignificant	19.6 to 39.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	43.8	30.2	1.45xSignificant	34 to 56.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	73	51.8	1.41xSignificant	59.7 to 89	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	12.1	8.7	1.39x	7.1 to 19.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	172.9	143.2	1.21xSignificant	151.7 to 196.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	16.7	13.9	1.2x	10.3 to 26	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13.5	11.3	1.19x	8.2 to 21.7	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	448.8	453.4	0.99x	412.7 to 487.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.2	14.5	0.84x	6.9 to 20.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	19.1	23.8	0.8x	12.3 to 28.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	13	18.7	0.7x	7.2 to 21.8	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 Ashley County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,009	9,842.6	+52%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.9	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	91.1	59.8	+52%	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	104.1	96.9	+7%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	24.8	28.6	-13%	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.

Formaldehyde23.13 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde2.13 per million
Benzene0.64 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 122 days: 68 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 48, peak 79.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing106
Industrial wastewater discharge59
NPDES wastewater discharge permit39
Air permit holder (minor source)13
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Gas station (mapped facility)4
TRI reporting facility4
Major air pollution source3
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Large hazardous waste generator3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Hazardous waste transporter2
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Gas power plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Georgia-Pacific Crossett Paper Operations, Crossett
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Methanol, Hydrogen sulfide, Formaldehyde and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,841,213 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 71635GRGPCPAPER (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Bakelite Chemicals Llc - Crossett Ar, Crossett
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Formaldehyde, Epichlorohydrin, Ammonia and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 14,826 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7163WBKLTC124PA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Georgia-Pacific Crossett Llc, Crossett
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000450921 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Alvar Resins Inc., Crossett
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Nonylphenol, Maleic anhydride. Reports carcinogens. 3,285 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7163WLVRRS141MA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Delek Renewables Llc, Crossett
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol. 57,076 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7163WPNNCL117MA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
CROSSETT, Crossett
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 050030005 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 6.1
Bakelite Chemicals Llc - Crossett, Ar, Crossett
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043787499 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Delek Renewables Llc, Crossett
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033168471 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Ingevity Arkansas Llc, Crossett
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Maleic anhydride, Ethylene glycol. 756 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7163WNGVTY157MI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Georgia-Pacific Crossett Llc, Crossett
Major air pollution source. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000450921 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Ingevity Arkansas, Llc, Crossett
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070225146 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.7
Georgia-Pacific Crossett Llc, Crossett
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000450921 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Georgia-Pacific Crossett Llc, Crossett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000450921 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Fountain Hill, City, Fountain Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010065534 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
North Crossett Utilities-Wtp #1, Crossett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010066524 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Georgia-Pacific Crossett Llc, Crossett
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000450921 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Montrose Waste Water Facilities, Montrose
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010065400 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Bakelite Chemicals Llc - Crossett, Ar, Crossett
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043787499 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Fountain Hill Waterworks, Fountain Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064253891 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Fountain Hill Compress Station, Hamburg
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001704380 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Hamburg, City Of, Hamburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006656476 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Wilmot, City Of, Wilmot
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $250.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024962959 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Bakelite Chemicals Llc - Crossett, Ar, Crossett
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043787499 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Georgia-Pacific Crossett Llc, Crossett
Gas power plant.
Record ID 10606 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
Crossett Municipal Building, Crossett
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020814467 (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 Ashley County

Arkansas 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 Ashley County, and their findings.
Arkansas vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Arkansas health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Arkansas 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.
Arkansas 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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