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Heard County, Georgia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Heard County is 168 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 96 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (44), Industrial wastewater discharge (15), Major air pollution source (7). 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: 33.2797, -85.1125.

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 Heard County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	102.2	51.8	1.97xSignificant	81.1 to 127.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	48.6	30.2	1.61xSignificant	34.4 to 67.3	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	168	143.2	1.17x	140.1 to 200.4	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	21.5	18.7	1.15x	12.1 to 35.9	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	476.5	453.4	1.05x	427.4 to 530.1	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.2	23.8	1.02x	13.9 to 39.8	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 Heard County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,527.7	9,842.6	+48%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.2	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	94.2	59.8	+58%	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	147.3	96.9	+52%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	34	28.6	+19%	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.

Formaldehyde23.53 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde2.36 per million
Pahpom0.84 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit44
Industrial wastewater discharge15
Major air pollution source7
Large greenhouse gas emitter5
Gas power plant5
Gas station (mapped facility)4
Landfill (mapped facility)4
Air permit holder (minor source)3
Public airport2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Rail grade crossing2
Large hazardous waste generator1
Coal power plant1
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.

Wansley, Roopville
Coal power plant.
Record ID 6052 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 7.8
Plasti-Paint Inc., Franklin
Major air pollution source. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043658618 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Plasti-Paint Inc., Franklin
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043658618 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Plasti-Paint Inc., Franklin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043658618 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Tenaska Georgia Partners Lp, Franklin
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens. 30 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30217TNSKGGEORG (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Jac Products Franklin Aluminum Co, Franklin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005669678 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Jac Products Franklin Aluminum Co, Franklin
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005669678 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Wansley Combined Cycle, Franklin
Gas power plant.
Record ID 55965 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4.2
Meag Plant Wansley Unit 9, Franklin
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110050259498 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Tenaska Georgia Generation Facility, Franklin
Gas power plant.
Record ID 55061 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.9
Tenaska Georgia Plant, Franklin
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010039494 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Hawk Road Facility, Franklin
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005720256 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Heard County Water Authority (Heard County Water Authority Wpcp), Franklin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,517.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006659366 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Chattahoochee Energy Facility, Franklin
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013399492 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Plant Wansley, Carrollton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046233919 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Plant Wansley Combined Cycle Units, Franklin
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110050259474 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Wansley Unit 9, Franklin
Gas power plant.
Record ID 7946 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.5
Chattahoochee Energy Facility, Franklin
Gas power plant.
Record ID 7917 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.5
Hawk Road Facility, Franklin
Gas power plant.
Record ID 55141 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.5
Tenaska Georgia Plant, Franklin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010039494 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Plant Wansley, Carrollton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046233919 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Meag Plant Wansley Unit 9, Franklin
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110050259498 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Tenaska Georgia Plant, Franklin
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010039494 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Hawk Road Facility, Franklin
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005720256 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Chattahoochee Energy Facility, Franklin
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013399492 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5

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 Heard 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 Heard 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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