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Decatur County, Georgia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Decatur County is 184.1 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 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 319 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (111), Rail grade crossing (67), Gas station (mapped facility) (34). 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: 30.8824, -84.5722.

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 Decatur County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	45.8	30.2	1.52xSignificant	36.8 to 56.5	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.5	17.9	1.31x	16.9 to 32.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	184.1	143.2	1.29xSignificant	164.9 to 205	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	65.4	51.8	1.26xSignificant	54.5 to 77.9	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	451.3	453.4	1x	420.5 to 483.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.5	18.7	0.99x	12.8 to 26.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.7	13.9	0.99x	8.9 to 20.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.8	8.7	0.9x	4.4 to 13.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	8.9	11.3	0.79x	5.2 to 14.4	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.5	18.5	0.78x	9.3 to 21.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	9.9	23.8	0.42x	5.7 to 16	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 Decatur County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,703.4	9,842.6	+49%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	64.1	59.8	+7%	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	91.7	96.9	-5%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	20.1	28.6	-30%	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.

Formaldehyde23.8 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.54 per million
Pahpom0.91 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit111
Rail grade crossing67
Gas station (mapped facility)34
Industrial wastewater discharge34
Air permit holder (minor source)23
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)11
Small hazardous waste generator7
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)6
TRI reporting facility5
Public airport4
Hazardous waste transporter3
Solar power plant3
Major air pollution source2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Oil-fired power 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.

Basf Corp Attapulgus Ops, Attapulgus
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds and 1 more. 22,314,957 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 31715NGLHRDEPOT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Engelhard Corporation - Attapulgus Operations, Attapulgus
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007248683 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.8
Southeastern Minerals Inc, Bainbridge
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Copper And Copper Compounds, Manganese compounds and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,750 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 31717STHSTSPRIN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Shaw Industries Group Inc. Bainbridge Plants 70 & 76, Bainbridge
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002102359 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Bainbridge
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009140081 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers Woodruff/Seminole Site, Chattahoochee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Dipotassium endothall, Triclopyr-triethylammonium salt, Triethylamine. 50,224 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3232WWDRFFPBX96 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Southeastern Minerals Inc, Bainbridge
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000361073 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Texpar Bainbridge Terminal, Bainbridge
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, n-Hexane, Lead and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 11 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 31717TXPRN268IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.3
Clariant - Crescent Lake South, Attapulgus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071524910 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Decatur County Board Of Commissioners (Industrial Airpark Wpcp), Bainbridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064622001 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Ergon Asphalt Partners Lp - Bainbridge, Bainbridge
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 3 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 31717RGNTR161SP (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.9
Texpar Bainbridge Terminal, Bainbridge
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002102368 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Steward Machine Co., Bainbridge
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001750766 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Steward Machine Co., Bainbridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001750766 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Shaw Industries Group Inc. Bainbridge Plants 70 & 76, Bainbridge
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002102359 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Shaw Industries Group Inc. Bainbridge Plants 70 & 76, Bainbridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002102359 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Basf Corp - Attapulgus, Attapulgus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002438979 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Bainbridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009140081 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Basf Corporation-Crescent Lake Mine, Attapulgus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043482442 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Elberta Crate & Box Co., Bainbridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070011088 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Oxford Construction, Plt 2, Bainbridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070018106 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Basf Corporation (Donaldson Farm Mine), Attapulgus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070020070 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Basf Corporation (Willacoochee Mine), Attapulgus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070021201 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Taurus Holdings, Inc., Bainbridge
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070675084 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Taurus Holdings, Inc., Bainbridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070675084 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5

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 Decatur 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 Decatur 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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