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Alachua County, Florida: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Alachua County is 148.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Melanoma of the skin deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 823 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (279), Rail grade crossing (136), Industrial wastewater discharge (98). 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: 29.6809, -82.3552.

How this county ranks in Florida

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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 Alachua County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	3.4	2	1.7xSignificant	2.6 to 4.5	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.9	5.7	1.21x	5.6 to 8.4	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	4.6	4.1	1.12x	3.6 to 5.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	14.9	13.9	1.07x	13 to 17	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	148.5	143.2	1.04x	142.4 to 154.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	11.7	11.3	1.04x	10 to 13.5	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	4.7	4.6	1.02x	3.6 to 5.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.8	14.5	1.02x	12.9 to 17	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	30.5	30.2	1.01x	27.9 to 33.4	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	3.7	3.7	1x	2.8 to 4.8	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	2.7	2.7	1x	1.9 to 3.8	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23.6	23.8	0.99x	21.1 to 26.3	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	16.1	16.4	0.98x	11.2 to 22.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	443.1	453.4	0.98x	432.3 to 454.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.8	18.5	0.96x	15.7 to 20.2	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	12.5	13	0.96x	10.6 to 14.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.3	6.6	0.95x	5.1 to 7.7	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.3	8.7	0.95x	6.9 to 9.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	47.4	51.8	0.92x	44 to 50.9	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.4	6.2	0.87x	4.2 to 6.8	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.2	18.7	0.87x	14.2 to 18.4	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	5.5	6.6	0.83x	4.4 to 6.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	2.8	3.4	0.82x	2 to 3.8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	14	17.9	0.78x	12.2 to 16.1	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	3.4	4.4	0.77x	2.6 to 4.6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	3.7	4.8	0.77x	2.8 to 4.8	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 Alachua County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,031.7	9,842.6	-18%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	77.7	75.3	+3%	years
Child mortality	63.9	59.8	+7%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	9.1	6.2	+46%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	77.8	96.9	-20%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	18.2	28.6	-36%	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.

Formaldehyde21.5 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.12 per million
Benzene0.81 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 364 days: 323 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 37, peak 69.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit279
Rail grade crossing136
Industrial wastewater discharge98
Gas station (mapped facility)84
Small hazardous waste generator55
Air permit holder (minor source)50
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)20
Large hazardous waste generator12
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)12
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)11
Landfill (mapped facility)9
Public airport8
Major air pollution source7
Heliport7
TRI reporting facility7
Brownfield property6
Hazardous waste transporter4
Solar power plant4
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)3
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Gas power plant3
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Biomass power plant1
Coal power plant1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

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

Cabot/Koppers, Gainesville
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 36.7. NPL Site.
EPA site ID FLD980709356 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Argos Newberry Plant, Newberry
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Lead And Lead Compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Zinc compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 249,354 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 32669FLRDR4000N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Gainesville Regional Utilities Deerhaven Generating Station, Gainesville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Hydrogen fluoride, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 29,836 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 32653GNSVL10001 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Sivance Llc, Gainesville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Hexane, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 29,172 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 32602PCRNC5002S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Sivance, Llc, Gainesville
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $213,300.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000520703 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Quikrete Construction Materials Llc, Newberry
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008056370 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Gainesville Renewable Energy Center, Gainesville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043333425 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Deerhaven Generating Station, Gainesville
Coal power plant.
Record ID 663 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6.4
University Of Florida, Gainesville
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $13,670.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064132996 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Gainesville Renewable Energy Center, Gainesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043333425 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Gru Main Street Water Reclamation Pipe Improvement, Gainesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $36,262.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064648957 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Gainesville Renewable Energy Center, Gainesville
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043333425 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Shands Medical Laboratory At Rocky Point, Gainesville
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $34,735.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013371797 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Ball Container, Llc, Gainesville
Major air pollution source. Penalties $5,821.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017416232 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
J,R. Kelly Generating Station, Gainesville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001736925 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Gainesville Rgnl, Gainesville
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID GNV (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Gainesville Ready Mix Plant, Gainesville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 2 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3260WGNSVL924SU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.8
Ball Container, Llc, Gainesville
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $5,821.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017416232 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Ball Container, Llc, Gainesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,821.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017416232 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Integrated Regional Laboratories Llc, Alachua
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $6,222.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070119692 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Argos Usa High Springs Concrete Plant, High Springs
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 3264WRGSSH17822 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
J,R. Kelly Generating Station, Gainesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001736925 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Perma-Fix Of Florida, Gainesville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chlordane, Mercury And Mercury Compounds. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 32606QDRXH1940N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Gainesville Asphalt, Gainesville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 3265WGNSVL765NW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Paynes Prairie Farm, Micanopy
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 120013012 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4.3

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 Alachua County

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