AR / county FIPS 05027 / county research

Columbia County, Arkansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Columbia County is 177.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Leukemia deaths at 2.2 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 334 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (114), Rail grade crossing (74), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (68). 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: 33.2379, -93.2325.

How this county ranks in Arkansas

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Columbia County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	Deaths	12.7	5.7	2.23xSignificant	7 to 21.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	45.4	30.2	1.5xSignificant	35.1 to 58.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	26.2	17.9	1.46xSignificant	18.3 to 36.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	177.1	143.2	1.24xSignificant	155.4 to 201.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	58.7	51.8	1.13x	46.8 to 72.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.7	14.5	1.08x	9.7 to 24.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	424.4	453.4	0.94x	389.6 to 461.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.8	18.5	0.85x	10 to 24.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	11.4	13.9	0.82x	6.3 to 19.2	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 Columbia County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,621.5	9,842.6	+38%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.5	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	87.9	59.8	+47%	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	89.4	96.9	-8%	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.

Formaldehyde23.97 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde2.21 per million
Hydrazine1.64 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge114
Rail grade crossing74
NPDES wastewater discharge permit68
Gas station (mapped facility)13
Air permit holder (minor source)12
Brownfield property11
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)10
TRI reporting facility8
Major air pollution source7
Large hazardous waste generator5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
Landfill (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.

Albemarle Corporation - West Plant, Magnolia
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000597676 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.4
Albemarle Corp South Plant, Magnolia
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Tetrabromobisphenol A, Benzene, Methanol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,686,808 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 71753THYLCROUTE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
American Fuel Cell, Magnolia
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070827798 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9
Potlatchdeltic Manufacturing - Waldo, Waldo
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $9,320.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017420487 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.6
Potlatchdeltic Manufacturing Llc - Waldo Mill, Waldo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 208,303 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 71770DLTCT172HW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Weyerhaeuser Nr Co-Emerson Plywood, Emerson
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Formaldehyde. Reports carcinogens. 137,868 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 71740WLLMTHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
American Fuel Cells & Coated Fabrics (Amfuel), Magnolia
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methyl isobutyl ketone, Toluene, Tetrachloroethylene. Reports carcinogens. 96,915 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 71753MFLXX601FI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Solimide Foams, Magnolia
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, 4,4'-Methylenedianiline. Reports carcinogens. 24,970 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 71753MTCHC1760H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Albemarle Corporation-South Plant, Magnolia
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $6,400.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000743508 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.8
Albemarle Corp West Plant, Magnolia
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen sulfide, Ammonia, Bromine, Chlorine and 1 more. 145,794 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 71753THYLCHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
American Fuel Cell, Magnolia
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070827798 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Weyerhaeuser Nr Company - Emerson, Emerson
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001712549 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Albemarle Corporation - West Plant, Magnolia
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000597676 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Potlatchdeltic Manufacturing - Waldo, Waldo
Major air pollution source. Penalties $9,320.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017420487 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
American Fuel Cell, Magnolia
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070827798 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
American Fuel Cell, Magnolia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070827798 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Potlatchdeltic Manufacturing - Waldo, Waldo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $9,320.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017420487 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Ludwig Inc, Waldo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates. 803 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 71770LDWGN52WMA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Cmc Steel Fabricators Inc. Dba Cmc Steel Arkansas, Magnolia
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese compounds, Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds, Nickel compounds. Reports carcinogens. 5 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 71753SMSTLKERLI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
Taylor, City Of, Taylor
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010067300 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Albemarle Corporation - West Plant, Magnolia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000597676 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Albemarle Corporation-South Plant, Magnolia
Major air pollution source. Penalties $6,400.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000743508 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Ludwig, Inc., Waldo
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012206362 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Magnolia Wastewater Treatment Plant, Magnolia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,400.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000517227 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
White Rock Oil & Gas,Llc, Magnolia
Major air pollution source. Penalties $3,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006624199 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5

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 Columbia 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 Columbia 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.

Scan an address in Columbia County View on the heat map All Arkansas counties