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Ben Hill County, Georgia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Ben Hill County is 185.3 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 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 125 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (49), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (35), Air permit holder (minor source) (13). 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: 31.7516, -83.1608.

How this county ranks in Georgia

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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 Ben Hill County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	48.2	30.2	1.6xSignificant	36.4 to 63	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	20	14.5	1.38x	12.2 to 31.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.4	17.9	1.31x	14.8 to 35.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	185.3	143.2	1.29xSignificant	160.6 to 213.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	60.7	51.8	1.17x	47.3 to 77.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	496.8	453.4	1.1xSignificant	454.6 to 542	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.4	18.5	0.99x	10.9 to 29.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.2	23.8	0.89x	12.8 to 33.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.4	18.7	0.88x	9.8 to 26.3	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 Ben Hill County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,004.8	9,842.6	+52%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	69.7	75.3	-7%	years
Child mortality	77.3	59.8	+29%	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	105.5	96.9	+9%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	19.7	28.6	-31%	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.

Formaldehyde22.76 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.31 per million
Pahpom0.73 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing49
NPDES wastewater discharge permit35
Air permit holder (minor source)13
Industrial wastewater discharge10
Major air pollution source4
Gas station (mapped facility)4
Large hazardous waste generator2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Commercial airport1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Scrapyard (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.

Lippert Components Inc, Fitzgerald
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001426886 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.6
Agri Products, Fitzgerald
Major air pollution source. Penalties $10,441.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054887547 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Agri Products, Fitzgerald
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $10,441.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054887547 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Gilman Building Products Llc, Fitzgerald
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015680798 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Lippert Components Inc Plant 16, Fitzgerald
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 79 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 31750LPPRT160OR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
Gilman Building Products Llc, Fitzgerald
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015680798 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Gbw Railcar Services, Llc, Fitzgerald
Major air pollution source. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000361126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Gbw Railcar Services, Llc, Fitzgerald
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000361126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Modern Dispersions South Inc., Fitzgerald
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Manganese compounds. 112 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3175WMDRND32EDW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
Lippert Components Inc, Fitzgerald
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001426886 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
American Blanching Co., Fitzgerald
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059134645 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Shapiro Metals, Fitzgerald
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071410432 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Modern Dispersions South Inc., Fitzgerald
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070046153 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Elixir Metals Co., Fitzgerald
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005702169 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Vls Rail (Fitzgerald), Fitzgerald
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009355606 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Polar Beverage, Fitzgerald
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070273513 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Lippert Components Inc, Fitzgerald
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001426886 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Fitzgerald Water, Light & Bond Commission, Fitzgerald
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064597048 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Polar Beverage, Fitzgerald
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110070273513 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Southern Veneer Products, Fitzgerald
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007356672 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Shapiro Metals, Fitzgerald
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070046154 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
The Cabinet Warehouse, Fitzgerald
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $7,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071841787 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Scruggs Concrete-Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071942660 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Southern Veneer Products, Fitzgerald
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007356672 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Fitzgerald Water, Light & Bond Commission (C.A. Newcomer), Fitzgerald
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit GA0047236: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3

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 Ben Hill 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 Ben Hill 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.

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