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White County, Arkansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in White County is 169.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 524 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (169), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (122), Rail grade crossing (93). 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: 35.2786, -91.7625.

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 White County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	45.4	30.2	1.5xSignificant	39.7 to 51.8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.8	3.4	1.41x	3 to 7.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	70.6	51.8	1.36xSignificant	63.4 to 78.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.6	17.9	1.32xSignificant	19.3 to 28.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	31.2	23.8	1.31xSignificant	26.1 to 37.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	7.3	5.7	1.28x	5 to 10.3	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.4	4.4	1.23x	3.5 to 8.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8	6.6	1.21x	5.7 to 11	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	169.1	143.2	1.18xSignificant	157.6 to 181.3	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	12.5	11.3	1.11x	9.5 to 16.2	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	492.3	453.4	1.09xSignificant	472.2 to 513.2	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.4	4.1	1.07x	2.7 to 7	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	14.7	13.9	1.06x	11.4 to 18.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	4.8	4.6	1.04x	3 to 7.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.1	14.5	1.04x	11.7 to 19.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.5	18.7	0.99x	14.9 to 22.9	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.5	8.7	0.98x	6 to 11.6	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	3.5	3.7	0.95x	2.1 to 5.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.5	18.5	0.95x	13.8 to 21.8	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	12	13	0.92x	8.8 to 16	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.1	6.2	0.82x	3.1 to 7.8	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	5.2	6.6	0.79x	3.3 to 7.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	3.6	4.8	0.75x	2.1 to 5.8	2020-2024

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 White County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,838.9	9,842.6	+20%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.8	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	62.9	59.8	+5%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8.5	6.2	+36%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	89	96.9	-8%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	21.8	28.6	-24%	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.

Formaldehyde23.99 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde2.39 per million
Benzene0.9 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge169
NPDES wastewater discharge permit122
Rail grade crossing93
Air permit holder (minor source)49
Gas station (mapped facility)36
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)16
Major air pollution source6
Public airport5
Large greenhouse gas emitter4
Small hazardous waste generator4
Large hazardous waste generator3
Heliport3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Hazardous waste transporter2
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Wastewater plant (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.

Matthews International Corp, Searcy
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Zinc compounds, Lead, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 1,993 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72143MTTHW501LI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Danfoss Power Solutions Ii Llc - Searcy Plant, Searcy
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1,257 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72143VCKRS40LIN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Searcy Gas Plant, Searcy
Major air pollution source. Penalties $4,260.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043788023 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Matthews International Corporation, Searcy
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000451804 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
The Bryce Company, Llc, Searcy
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $30,940.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000451797 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Searcy Gas Plant, Searcy
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $4,260.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043788023 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
City Of Beebe, Beebee
Major air pollution source. Penalties $2,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071141728 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Wastewater Treatment Plant, Searcy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000515960 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
The Bryce Company, Llc, Searcy
Major air pollution source. Penalties $30,940.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000451797 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Russell Waterworks-Wtp 1, Russell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010066828 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Kensett, City Of-Wwtp, Kensett
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,600.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010066882 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Petroplus, Llc - D/B/A Max Mart #1026, El Paso
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010063894 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Bradford Wwtp, Bradford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039815974 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
The Bryce Company, Llc, Searcy
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $30,940.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000451797 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
The Bryce Company, Llc, Searcy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $30,940.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000451797 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Danfoss Power Solutions Ii, Llc, Searcy
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000451859 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Mcrae, City Of, Mcrae
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010067177 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Mad Jack'S #2, Llc, El Paso
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015982481 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Enable Mississippi River Transmission, Llc - West Point Compressor Station, Searcy
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001705815 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Texas Eastern Transmission, Lp - Bald Knob, Ar, Bald Knob
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006035824 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Bald Knob, City Of - Wastewater Treatment Facility, Bald Knob
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006786479 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Higginson, Town Of, Higginson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022878581 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Letona Sanitary Sewer, Letona
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025001352 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Desoto Gathering Company, Llc.- White Cpf-1, Rose Bud
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $300.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039626964 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Fayetteville Express Pipeline - Russell Compressor Sta, Bald Knob
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041630223 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5

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 White 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 White 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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