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Putnam County, Florida: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Putnam County is 198.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Melanoma of the skin deaths at 2.1 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.9 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 293 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (70), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (69), Industrial wastewater discharge (30). 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: 29.5868, -81.7891.

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 Putnam County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	4.2	2	2.1xSignificant	2.3 to 6.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	57.8	30.2	1.91xSignificant	51.9 to 64.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	92.6	51.8	1.79xSignificant	85 to 100.9	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	7.2	4.1	1.76xSignificant	5.2 to 9.9	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	6.8	4.6	1.48xSignificant	4.7 to 9.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	198.9	143.2	1.39xSignificant	187.3 to 211.1	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	5.1	3.7	1.38x	3.4 to 7.4	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6.4	4.8	1.33x	4.2 to 9.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	10.4	8.7	1.2x	7.8 to 13.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13.5	11.3	1.19x	10.6 to 16.9	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21	18.5	1.14x	16.9 to 26	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	511.3	453.4	1.13xSignificant	491.4 to 531.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.4	5.7	1.12x	4.5 to 9	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.3	17.9	1.08x	15.3 to 23.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.9	13.9	1.07x	12 to 18.5	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7	6.6	1.06x	4.8 to 9.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15	14.5	1.03x	11.8 to 18.9	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.7	6.6	1.02x	4.9 to 9.2	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23.1	23.8	0.97x	18.8 to 28.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.3	3.4	0.97x	2 to 5.4	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	17.1	18.7	0.91x	13.9 to 20.9	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	8.9	13	0.68x	6 to 12.8	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	3.6	6.2	0.58x	2 to 6	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 Putnam County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,842.6	9,842.6	+61%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.8	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	98.7	59.8	+65%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8.8	6.2	+42%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	147.7	96.9	+52%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	33.5	28.6	+17%	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.

Formaldehyde19.9 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde1.99 per million
Benzene0.61 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 349 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 21, peak 69.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing70
NPDES wastewater discharge permit69
Industrial wastewater discharge30
Gas station (mapped facility)21
Air permit holder (minor source)15
Brownfield property13
Public airport12
Small hazardous waste generator12
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
Major air pollution source6
Landfill (mapped facility)6
TRI reporting facility5
Large greenhouse gas emitter4
Airfield3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Large hazardous waste generator2
Heliport2
Solar power plant2
EPA air quality monitor1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Biomass power plant1
Coal 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.

Seminole Electric Cooperative Inc, Palatka
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $27,840.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041142304 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.9
Seminole Generating Station, Palatka
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Vanadium compounds, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Ammonia and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 5,945,286 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 32177SMNLGUSHWY (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.7
Georgia-Pacific Consumer Operations Llc, Palatka
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Ammonia, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Hydrogen sulfide and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,109,222 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 32078GRGPCSTATE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.5
Georgia-Pacific Consumer Operations, Llc, Palatka
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $8,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000588604 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.2
Veritas Steel, Palatka
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Zinc (fume or dust), Nickel, Lead and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 7,550 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 32177SHFFLCOMFO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Seminole (Fl), Palatka
Coal power plant.
Record ID 136 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 7.3
Seminole Electric Cooperative Inc, Palatka
Major air pollution source. Penalties $27,840.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041142304 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Seminole Electric Cooperative Inc, Palatka
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $27,840.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041142304 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Seminole Electric Cooperative Inc, Palatka
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $27,840.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041142304 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Georgia-Pacific Consumer Operations, Llc, Palatka
Major air pollution source. Penalties $8,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000588604 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Georgia-Pacific Consumer Operations, Llc, Palatka
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $8,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000588604 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Veritas Steel, Llc, Palatka
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000361732 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Certainteed Gypsum Palatka Llc, Palatka
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Mercury compounds, Mercury And Mercury Compounds, Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds. 985 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3217WLFRGN886NR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.3
Georgia-Pacific Consumer Operations, Llc, Palatka
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $8,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000588604 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Lafarge North America, Palatka
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039204152 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Tpg Pressure - Palatka, Palatka
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 32177PRCBR245CO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
City Of Palatka Platt Drew Wwtp, Palatka
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $17,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000509744 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Port Consolidated Inc., Palatka
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Ethylbenzene, Benzene, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 3217WPRTCN11WAS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
East Putnam County Ro Wtp, East Palatka
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $44,536.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033636064 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Georgia-Pacific Consumer Operations, Llc, Palatka
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $8,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000588604 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Oldcastle Lawn & Garden Inc.-Bostwick Facility, Bostwick
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043694106 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Florida Furniture Industries, Inc., Palatka
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000361607 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Infinite Recycled Technologies Llc, Hawthorne
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000362376 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Putnam County Sanitation Department - Landfill, Palatka
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013932414 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Lafarge North America, Palatka
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039204152 (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.

Putnam Correctional Institution, East Palatka
EPA FRS registry ID
110012541062
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Putnam 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 Putnam 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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