GA / county FIPS 13011 / county research

Banks County, Georgia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Banks County is 177.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 285 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (142), Industrial wastewater discharge (90), Rail grade crossing (26). 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: 34.345, -83.5213.

How this county ranks in Georgia

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 Banks County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	New cases	12.7	8.7	1.46x	7.3 to 21.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	74.6	51.8	1.44xSignificant	60 to 92	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	18.5	13.9	1.33x	11.2 to 29	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	177.1	143.2	1.24xSignificant	153 to 204.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	508	453.4	1.12xSignificant	467.7 to 551.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.7	17.9	1.1x	12.7 to 29.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	32.8	30.2	1.09x	23.6 to 44.9	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	25.4	23.8	1.07x	16.5 to 37.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.4	14.5	0.99x	8 to 24.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.4	18.5	0.94x	10.8 to 27	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.1	18.7	0.86x	9.9 to 25.4	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 Banks County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,880.2	9,842.6	+11%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.9	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	99.6	59.8	+67%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	14.5	6.2	+133%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	94.3	96.9	-3%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	29.7	28.6	+4%	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.

Formaldehyde23.86 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde2.33 per million
Benzene0.89 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit142
Industrial wastewater discharge90
Rail grade crossing26
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Air permit holder (minor source)5
Major air pollution source2
Brownfield property2
Small hazardous waste generator2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)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.

Kerry Banks Crossing Facility, Commerce
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070063458 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
R & B Landfill, Homer
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001360394 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
R & B Landfill, Homer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001360394 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Reeves Construction Co - Homer Plant-Ap-72, Homer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070019974 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Kerry Banks Crossing Facility, Commerce
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070063458 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Kerry Banks Crossing Facility, Commerce
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110070063458 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Fieldale Farms Corp Direct Feed Mills, Baldwin
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072128763 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Selit Na Inc., Commerce
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070616530 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Banks County Board Of Commissioners (Mountain Creek Wtp), Alto
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011331246 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Former Chicken Farm, Maysville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071984672 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Lucky Farms Chicken Farm, Commerce
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072135941 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Selit Na Inc., Commerce
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070616530 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Fieldale Farms Corp Direct Feed Mills, Baldwin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese.
TRI facility ID 30511FDLFROLDUS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Kerry Banks Crossing Facility, Commerce
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid.
TRI facility ID 3052WKRRYB171DI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Marjac Poultry, Inc. Feed Mill & Truck Shop, Maysville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070021205 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Kerry, Inc., Commerce
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $44,211.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070227959 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Banks County Board Of Commissioners (Hudson River Wpcp), Commerce
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056133768 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Martin Marietta Materials Inc. Homer Quarry, Homer
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit GAG300093: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Northeast Georgia Housing Authority (Homer Housing Wpcp), Homer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008982084 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1373375483 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Northeast Georgia Housing Authority (Homer Housing Wpcp), Homer
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit GAG550044: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2
Martin Marietta - Homer Quarry, Homer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005709965 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wal-Mart Supercenter #3, Commerce
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006399487 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Commerce, City Of (Holiday Inn Wpcp), Commerce
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010040222 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Commerce, City Of (Davis House Wpcp), Commerce
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010040231 (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.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Banks County

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