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Columbia County, Georgia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Columbia County is 131.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 1,177 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (765), Industrial wastewater discharge (239), Gas station (mapped facility) (55). 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: 33.5275, -82.2216.

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 Columbia County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	40.3	23.8	1.69xSignificant	36.1 to 44.7	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	22	16.4	1.34x	15.4 to 30.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.5	14.5	1.14x	13.8 to 19.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.8	11.3	1.13x	10.5 to 15.3	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.7	6.2	1.08x	5.1 to 8.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.3	18.5	1.04x	16.4 to 22.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.5	13.9	1.04x	12.1 to 17.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.8	5.7	1.02x	4.3 to 7.6	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.4	4.4	1x	3.1 to 6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.8	17.9	0.99x	15.1 to 20.9	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	448.7	453.4	0.99x	434.7 to 463	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.3	3.4	0.97x	2.2 to 4.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	29	30.2	0.96x	25.6 to 32.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.6	4.8	0.96x	3.3 to 6.3	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	131.6	143.2	0.92x	124.2 to 139.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	45	51.8	0.87x	40.7 to 49.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	15.9	18.7	0.85x	13.3 to 18.9	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	3.4	4.1	0.83x	2.3 to 5	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	3.8	4.6	0.83x	2.7 to 5.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.3	6.6	0.8x	4 to 7	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	5	6.6	0.76x	3.6 to 6.8	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	2.8	3.7	0.76x	1.8 to 4.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.3	8.7	0.72x	4.8 to 8.2	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	9	13	0.69x	7.1 to 11.3	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 Columbia County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,069.7	9,842.6	-28%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.4	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	47.8	59.8	-20%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.9	6.2	-4%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	61.9	96.9	-36%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	21.1	28.6	-26%	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.

Formaldehyde25.35 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde2.43 per million
Benzene0.96 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2024

Monitored on 172 days: 162 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 36, peak 90.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,177 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit765
Industrial wastewater discharge239
Gas station (mapped facility)55
Air permit holder (minor source)28
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)26
Rail grade crossing21
Small hazardous waste generator12
Brownfield property6
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
TRI reporting facility3
Major air pollution source2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Solar power plant2
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Hydroelectric 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.

Club Car Inc, Evans
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005673609 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
U.S. Battery Manufacturing Co, Evans
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 94 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30809SBTTR653IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
Columbia County Water Utility (Reed Creek Wpcp), Martinez
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064620824 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Columbia County Water Utility (Crawford Creek Wpcp), Grovetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064621949 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Columbia County Water Authority (Little River Wpcp), Evans
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064621039 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
John Deere Commercial Products, Grovetown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Naphthalene, Ethylene glycol, Ethylbenzene. Reports carcinogens. 11 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30813JHNDR700HO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.3
Georgia Iron Works Inc, Grovetown
Major air pollution source. Penalties $5,760.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009355018 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
U.S. Battery Manufacturing Company, Evans
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046300463 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.7
Club Car Inc, Evans
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005673609 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Club Car Inc, Evans
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005673609 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Georgia Iron Works Inc, Grovetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,760.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009355018 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Er Snell, Augusta Asphalt Plant, Grovetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038661329 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Augusta Ready Mix, Inc., Grovetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070006943 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Qg Printing Ii Corporation, Evans
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070007770 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
John Deere Commercial Products Engineering Lab Storage, Grovetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070017828 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Augusta Asphalt, Llc - Plant #2, Grovetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070064693 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
American Concrete Appling Plant, Appling
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070686384 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Club Car Llc, Evans
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Vanadium (except when contained in an alloy), Silver, Nickel, Aluminum (fume or dust) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 30917CLBCR4152W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
John Deere Commercial, Grovetown
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000496721 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Pollard Lumber Company, Appling
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009355134 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Er Snell, Augusta Asphalt Plant, Grovetown
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110038661329 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Camp Oliver, Fort Stewart
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064626105 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Grovetown Water Pollution Control Plant, Grovetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071408079 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Grovetown, City Of (Grovetown Wpcp), Grovetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070031639 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
William Few Parkway Recycling Facility, Grovetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070031848 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8

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 Columbia 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 Columbia 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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