FL / county FIPS 12129 / county research

Wakulla County, Florida: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Wakulla County is 186 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 115 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (34), Gas station (mapped facility) (20), Industrial wastewater discharge (17). 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: 30.1363, -84.372.

How this county ranks in Florida

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Wakulla County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	78.5	51.8	1.52xSignificant	67 to 91.5	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	9	6.2	1.45x	5 to 14.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41.8	30.2	1.38xSignificant	33.8 to 51.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.6	6.6	1.3x	5 to 13.8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	186	143.2	1.3xSignificant	167.4 to 206.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	16.8	13.9	1.21x	11.8 to 23.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	17.1	14.5	1.18x	11.6 to 24.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	534.2	453.4	1.18xSignificant	502.9 to 567	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.9	11.3	1.14x	8.4 to 19	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.3	8.7	1.07x	5.6 to 14.8	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.6	18.7	0.99x	13.1 to 25.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18	18.5	0.97x	12.7 to 25	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.5	23.8	0.9x	15.6 to 29.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	11.8	17.9	0.66x	7.7 to 17.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	7.7	13	0.59x	4.3 to 12.9	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 Wakulla County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,820.2	9,842.6	-10%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.5	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	51.5	59.8	-14%	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	95.7	96.9	-1%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	25	28.6	-13%	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.

Formaldehyde19.89 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde1.91 per million
Pahpom0.69 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 276 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 41, peak 80.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit34
Gas station (mapped facility)20
Industrial wastewater discharge17
Brownfield property9
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)7
Landfill (mapped facility)5
Air permit holder (minor source)3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Rail grade crossing3
Major air pollution source2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Gas power plant1
Solar power plant1
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.

St. Marks Powder Inc., Crawfordville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Sodium nitrite, Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Diphenylamine and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 151,023 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 32355LNCRPINTER (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
St Marks Powder Inc, Crawfordville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000523817 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
City Of Tallahassee Sam O. Purdom Generating Station, St Marks
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001737390 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
St Marks Powder Inc, Crawfordville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072233112 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
St Marks Powder Inc, Crawfordville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072233112 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
St Marks Powder Inc, Crawfordville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000523817 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
City Of Tallahassee Sam O. Purdom Generating Station, St Marks
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001737390 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
S O Purdom, St Marks
Gas power plant.
Record ID 689 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.2
Pelican Properties - Former Stratus Petroleum, St. Marks
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027954916 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Porter Property, St. Marks
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043454400 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Pelican Properties - South Of Riverside Drive, St. Marks
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043454419 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Posey'S On The River Sites, St. Marks
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043454428 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Murphy Oil Site, St. Marks
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043454437 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
St. Marks Refinery, Saint Marks
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043537474 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Proposed River Place Park, Sopchoppy
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071979356 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
14 Rose Street, Sopchoppy
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985129 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
2164 Sopchoppy Highway, Sopchoppy
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985130 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
St Marks Powder Inc, Saint Marks
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit FL0002518: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Wakulla County, Panacea
Public airport. O.
Record ID 2J0 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID relation/14951055 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1118246602 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1118246603 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1118246604 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1118246605 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1118246608 (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.

Wakulla Correctional Institution, Crawfordville
EPA FRS registry ID
110005642199
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Wakulla 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 Wakulla 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.

Scan an address in Wakulla County View on the heat map All Florida counties