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Burke County, Georgia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Burke County is 155.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 675 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (429), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (118), Rail grade crossing (83). 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: 33.0509, -81.9247.

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 Burke County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	39	30.2	1.29x	29.8 to 50.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.6	17.9	1.15x	13.7 to 30	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	58.5	51.8	1.13x	47.1 to 72.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	155.6	143.2	1.09x	135.9 to 177.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	15.1	13.9	1.09x	9.6 to 22.9	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	489.2	453.4	1.08xSignificant	453.6 to 527	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.6	11.3	1.03x	6.8 to 18.6	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	23.8	23.8	1x	16.5 to 33.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	12.6	13	0.97x	7 to 20.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.6	18.5	0.9x	10.6 to 24.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	13	18.7	0.7x	7.7 to 20.7	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 Burke County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,349	9,842.6	+25%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	89.2	59.8	+49%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	12.6	6.2	+103%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	97.3	96.9	+0%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	19.6	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.

Formaldehyde23.6 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde2.36 per million
Benzene0.71 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge429
NPDES wastewater discharge permit118
Rail grade crossing83
Air permit holder (minor source)12
Gas station (mapped facility)11
Small hazardous waste generator4
Public airport3
Landfill (mapped facility)3
Solar power plant3
Major air pollution source2
Heliport2
Commercial airport1
Nuclear power plant1
Oil-fired 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.

Vogtle, Waynesboro
Nuclear power plant.
Record ID 649 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 5
Wilson Combustion Turbine Plant, Waynesboro
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032877849 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Evans Concrete Portable Plant, Waynesboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070007509 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Southern Nuclear - Plant Wilson/Vogtle, Waynesboro
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 30830STHRN8803R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Wilson, Waynesboro
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 6258 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4.3
Wilson Combustion Turbine Plant, Waynesboro
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032877849 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Waynesboro, City Of (Highway 56 Well Wtp), Waynesboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071546024 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Sardis,City Of (Sardis Wpcp), Sardis
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010041711 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Vogtle Elec. Generating Plant, Waynesboro
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064351687 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Waynesboro, City Of (Brier Creek Wpcp), Waynesboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064598092 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Wilson Combustion Turbine Plant, Waynesboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032877849 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Keysville, City Of (Keysville Wpcp), Keysville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110066928203 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Vogtle Elec. Generating Plant, Waynesboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064351687 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Waynesboro Concrete, Waynesboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070007989 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Vogtle Elec. Generating Plant, Waynesboro
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064351687 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Burke County, Waynesboro
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID BXG (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Vogtle Spent Fuel Storage
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1156700460 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Vogtle Spent Fuel Storage
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1457526529 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Vogtle Spent Fuel Storage
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1457526530 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Midville, City Of (Midville Wpcp), Midville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010041935 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Clearwater Paper-Mcbean Woodyard, Waynesboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071886114 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Cms Waynesboro, Waynesboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072112367 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Fiamm Energy Llc, Waynesboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001360358 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Legion Industries Inc, Waynesboro
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005668143 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Purification Cellutions Office Expansion, Waynesboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005711024 (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 Burke 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 Burke 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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