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Gulf County, Florida: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Gulf County is 169.3 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 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 139 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (47), Industrial wastewater discharge (21), Brownfield property (20). 2 correctional facilities operate in the county, at least one with health-based drinking water violations on record. EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 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: 29.9346, -85.21.

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 Gulf County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	30.8	18.5	1.66xSignificant	20.5 to 45.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41.5	30.2	1.37xSignificant	30.9 to 55.5	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.2	17.9	1.3x	15.1 to 34.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	66.3	51.8	1.28xSignificant	52.9 to 83	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	169.3	143.2	1.18xSignificant	146.2 to 195.7	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	468.4	453.4	1.03x	428.1 to 512.1	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	22.7	23.8	0.95x	14.2 to 35	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.8	18.7	0.95x	11.1 to 28.2	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 Gulf County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,295.8	9,842.6	+5%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.3	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	119.2	96.9	+23%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	30.1	28.6	+5%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde17.3 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde1.51 per million
Pahpom0.6 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit47
Industrial wastewater discharge21
Brownfield property20
Rail grade crossing20
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)8
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Landfill (mapped facility)5
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Correctional facility (prison or jail)2
Public airport1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1

Highest-severity records

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

Wewahitchka, City Of - Wewahitchka Wwtp, Wewahitchka
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $82,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006659044 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Philadelphia Primitive Church Property On Hodrick Street/Avenue G, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971667 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Vacant Parcel At 315 Avenue C, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971668 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
261 Avenue A, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981728 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
301 Avenue E, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981729 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
403 Battles St, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981731 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
319 Ave B, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981733 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
308 Ave B, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981734 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
316 Ave D, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981735 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
301 Ave B, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981736 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
303 Ave B, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981737 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
324 Ave B, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981738 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
303 Ave E, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981739 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
306 Ave D, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981740 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
322 Ave D, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981741 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
109 N. Bay Street, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981742 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
705 Ave A, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981743 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
115 N. Bay Street, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981744 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
202 Mlk Blvd, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985638 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Vacant Lot At Se Corner Of Avenue C And Mlk Boulevard, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985639 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
113 N Bay St, Port Saint Joe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071986636 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Port St Joe Wwtf, Port Saint Joe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043724235 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
City Of Wewahitchka Ricky Mcmillion Wwtp, Wewahitchka
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit FL0020125: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Costin, Port St Joe
Public airport. O.
Record ID A51 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID relation/15314084 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Gulf Forestry Work Camp, White City , 5 Mi E
EPA FRS registry ID
110035654477
Water system
FL1234011
Health-based violations
4 all time, 0 in 5 years
All violations
22
Contaminants cited
Coliform (TCR), Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U, Lead and Copper Rule, Revised Total Coliform Rule
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Florida Cor Gulf Correctional Inst, Wewahitchka
EPA FRS registry ID
110008313299
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Gulf 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 Gulf 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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