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Holmes County, Florida: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Holmes County is 174.6 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 1.9 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 111 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (27), Industrial wastewater discharge (22), Rail grade crossing (20). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 30.8501, -85.8163.

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 Holmes County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	56.8	30.2	1.88xSignificant	45.2 to 70.9	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	174.6	143.2	1.22xSignificant	153.3 to 198.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	11.8	11.3	1.04x	6.9 to 19.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	51.1	51.8	0.99x	40.1 to 64.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	14.8	23.8	0.62x	8.7 to 23.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	267.6	453.4	0.59x	239.8 to 298.1	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 Holmes County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,510.8	9,842.6	+37%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.1	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	91.2	59.8	+53%	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	109	96.9	+12%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	22	28.6	-23%	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.

Formaldehyde22.79 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde2.42 per million
Pahpom0.71 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 219 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 46, peak 79.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit27
Industrial wastewater discharge22
Rail grade crossing20
Scrapyard (mapped facility)15
Gas station (mapped facility)8
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)5
Landfill (mapped facility)3
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Brownfield property2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Bonifay, City Of - Bonifay Wwtf, Bonifay
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006645194 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Noma Stp, Noma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055998862 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Arnold Lumber Company Inc, Bonifay
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000362330 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Former Lamb'S Recycling, Bonifay
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973213 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Town Of Esto, Bonifay (Esto)
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981238 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Arnold Lumber Co Inc, Bonifay
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds.
TRI facility ID 32425RNLDL3185T (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Bonifay, City Of - Wwtf, Bonifay
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit FL0027731: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.6
Noma Wwtp, Noma
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit FL0040207: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.3
El-Sankary Inc, Ponce De Leon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043857877 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Tri-County, Bonifay
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID BCR (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID relation/15319158 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1132304600 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1132306068 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1132308677 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1132312892 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1132314607 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1132318634 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1132318915 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Retif Bonifay Bulk Plant, Bonifay
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056401718 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Arnold Lumber Company Inc, Bonifay
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000362330 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Arnold Lumber Company Inc, Bonifay
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000362330 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bonifay Ready Mix Plant, Bonifay
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009071707 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tom Thumb Food Store #152, Bonifay
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022834637 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
S & G Recycling Center, Ponce De Leon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037325533 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Holmes County Mosquito Control District, Bonifay
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044882696 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

Correctional facilities

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

Florida Dept Of Corrections, Bonifay
EPA FRS registry ID
110055579565
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Holmes 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 Holmes 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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