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Mississippi County, Arkansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Mississippi County is 215.8 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 2.2 times the U.S. rate and Bladder deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 733 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (261), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (145), Rail grade crossing (90). 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: 35.6971, -90.1218.

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 Mississippi County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	67.4	30.2	2.23xSignificant	57.1 to 79.2	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	7.4	4.1	1.8xSignificant	4.2 to 12.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	89.7	51.8	1.73xSignificant	78 to 102.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	10.5	6.6	1.59xSignificant	6.8 to 15.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	27.4	17.9	1.53xSignificant	20.8 to 35.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	215.8	143.2	1.51xSignificant	196.6 to 236.4	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	9.4	6.6	1.42x	5.7 to 14.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	19.2	14.5	1.32x	13.7 to 26.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	10.3	8.7	1.18x	6.7 to 15.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	527.5	453.4	1.16xSignificant	497.4 to 559.1	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	12.5	13	0.96x	8 to 18.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.7	11.3	0.95x	6.9 to 16.1	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	14.9	18.7	0.8x	10.2 to 21.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	10	13.9	0.72x	6.4 to 15	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	16.4	23.8	0.69x	11.3 to 23.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	11.8	18.5	0.64x	7.7 to 17.3	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 Mississippi County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	18,347.5	9,842.6	+86%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	67.9	75.3	-10%	years
Child mortality	125.7	59.8	+110%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	9.6	6.2	+54%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	120.7	96.9	+24%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	28.7	28.6	+0%	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.

Formaldehyde22.25 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde2.13 per million
Benzene0.77 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge261
NPDES wastewater discharge permit145
Rail grade crossing90
Gas station (mapped facility)45
Air permit holder (minor source)38
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)29
TRI reporting facility25
Major air pollution source16
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)15
Large hazardous waste generator11
Brownfield property10
Small hazardous waste generator10
Scrapyard (mapped facility)10
Large greenhouse gas emitter5
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)5
Landfill (mapped facility)4
Commercial airport3
Public airport2
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)2
Heliport2
Crematorium (mapped facility)1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Coal power plant1
Gas power plant1
Oil-fired 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.

Plum Point Energy Station, Osceola
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Barium And Barium Compounds, Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Vanadium compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 6,953,663 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7237WPLMPN2732A (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.8
Viskase Companies Inc, Osceola
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $3,650.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000452331 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.4
Nucor Steel-Arkansas, Blytheville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Zinc compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 171,942 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72315NCRST7301E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Big River Steel Llc, Osceola
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Aluminum (fume or dust), Lead compounds, Manganese compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 168,477 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7237WBGRVR227ES (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Nucor Corp - Nucor Steel, Blytheville
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $11,042.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000452180 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.4
Nucor Yamato Steel Co, Armorel
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $2,665.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000743562 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.4
Viskase Cos Inc, Osceola
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Carbon disulfide, Hydrogen sulfide, Ammonia, Chlorine. 8,644,619 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72370VSKSCRT198 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Nucor-Yamato Steel Co, Blytheville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Lead compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 82,914 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72316NCRYM5929E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Nucor Coatings Corp, Blytheville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Xylene (mixed isomers), 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 76,428 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72315RLLCT5888E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Aeci Dell Power Plant, Dell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens. 45,232 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7242WCDLLP31EAS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Skyline Steel Llc-Armorel, Armorel
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Manganese and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 31,566 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72315SKYLN5896H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Plum Point Energy Station, Osceola
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $9,400.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033168391 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.8
Big River Steel Llc, Osceola
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $3,960.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056033849 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Remuriate Arkansas Llc, Osceola
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Chlorine, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 4,341 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7237WRMRTR244EC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Roehm America Llc, Osceola
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methyl methacrylate, Methyl acrylate. Reports carcinogens. 2,191 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72370CYRNDOFFHI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Nibco Inc Blytheville Div, Blytheville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Copper, Lead compounds, Diisocyanates. 67,239 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72315NBCNCHWY18 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Exploratory Ventures Llc., Osceola
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Aluminum (fume or dust), Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Manganese And Manganese Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 703 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7237WXPLRT1EAST (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Plum Point Energy Station, Osceola
Coal power plant.
Record ID 56456 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6.7
Maverick Tube Corp, Blytheville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 419 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72316MVRCK4950N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Dell Power Plant, Dell
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043716565 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Maverick Tube Lp Blythev L, Blytheville
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $1,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000598005 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Atlas Tube - Blytheville, Blytheville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031020124 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Nucor Yamato Steel Co, Armorel
Major air pollution source. Penalties $2,665.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000743562 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Nibco Inc, Blytheville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064124291 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Nucor Coatings Corporation - Blytheville Plant, Blytheville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028304957 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9

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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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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