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Dawson County, Georgia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Dawson County is 153.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 568 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (368), Industrial wastewater discharge (158), Gas station (mapped facility) (16). 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: 34.4749, -84.2196.

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 Dawson 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	49	23.8	2.06xSignificant	39.3 to 60.6	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	23.3	13	1.79xSignificant	16.2 to 32.5	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	10.8	6.6	1.64x	6.6 to 16.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	38.1	30.2	1.26xSignificant	30.4 to 47.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	7.1	5.7	1.25x	4 to 12.1	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	17.5	14.5	1.21x	11.7 to 25.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	153.2	143.2	1.07x	136.5 to 171.5	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	480.2	453.4	1.06x	449.1 to 513.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	54.7	51.8	1.06x	45 to 66.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.8	18.7	0.95x	12.5 to 25	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.8	11.3	0.87x	5.9 to 15.6	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	11.2	13.9	0.81x	7.1 to 17.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	14.4	17.9	0.8x	9.6 to 21.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	13.6	18.5	0.74x	9.1 to 19.8	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 Dawson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,319.4	9,842.6	-15%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.9	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	52.9	59.8	-11%	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	92	96.9	-5%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	24.5	28.6	-14%	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.

Formaldehyde22.23 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.84 per million
Acetaldehyde2.09 per million
Benzene0.94 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 244 days: 232 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 34, peak 97.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit368
Industrial wastewater discharge158
Gas station (mapped facility)16
Air permit holder (minor source)8
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Small hazardous waste generator3
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Fort Dearborn Co - Dawsonville, Dawsonville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000788434 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Btd Manufacturing Inc., Dawsonville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese. 2,475 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3053WBTDMNIMPUL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Btd Manufacturing Inc., Dawsonville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070067946 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Fort Dearborn Co - Dawsonville, Dawsonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000788434 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Btd Georgia, Dawsonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070011530 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Fort Dearborn Co - Dawsonville, Dawsonville
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110000788434 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Vulcan Materials Co - Dawsonville Ready Mix, Dawsonville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070033216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Premier Surplus, Inc., Dawsonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070119846 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Gold Creek Foods Llc (Dawsonville), Dawsonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056133866 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Thomas Concrete - Dawsonville, Dawsonville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution).
TRI facility ID 3053WVLCNM382HI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.1
Etowah Water & Sewer Authority (Dawson Forest Wrf), Dawsonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064640526 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Dawsonville, City Of (Dawsonville Wpcp), Dawsonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,915.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070046162 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Crane Auto Salvage Inc., Dawsonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070113487 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
The Oaks @ Dawson, Dawsonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $14,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071092684 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
400 Waste & Scrap, Dawsonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070030518 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1360043383 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1527096551 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/356866038 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/356866039 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Ernst Cobb Co., Inc., Dawsonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018854845 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Ready Mix Usa Llc, Dawsonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022937526 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Dawson County Ms4, Dawsonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070045996 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Amicalola Falls State Park, Dawsonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011329295 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Etowah Water & Sewer Authority (Hightower Wtp), Dawsonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017886796 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Home Depot Store #174, Dawsonville
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018901802 (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 Dawson 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 Dawson 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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