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Jefferson County, Georgia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Jefferson County is 206.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 195 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (69), Rail grade crossing (47), Industrial wastewater discharge (27). 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: 33.0372, -82.4449.

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 Jefferson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Pancreas	Deaths	16.9	11.3	1.5x	9.9 to 27.6	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	206.8	143.2	1.44xSignificant	179.2 to 237.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	38.9	30.2	1.29x	27.6 to 53.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	17.8	14.5	1.23x	9.9 to 29.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	17	13.9	1.22x	9.7 to 28	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	536.7	453.4	1.18xSignificant	490.7 to 586.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	59.7	51.8	1.15x	45.9 to 76.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.7	17.9	1.04x	11.7 to 29	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.4	23.8	0.9x	13.1 to 33.5	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 Jefferson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,667.1	9,842.6	+59%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	68.8	75.3	-9%	years
Child mortality	95.8	59.8	+60%	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	105.3	96.9	+9%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde23.26 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde2.35 per million
Benzene0.69 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit69
Rail grade crossing47
Industrial wastewater discharge27
Gas station (mapped facility)14
Brownfield property13
Air permit holder (minor source)8
Major air pollution source6
Public airport3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Small hazardous waste generator1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Solar power plant1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

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

U.S. Ceramics, Wrens
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 552,405 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3083WPYRMX13CMM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Kamin - Wrens Main, Wrens
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002439086 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Imerys Oilfield Solutions, Wrens
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058240345 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Kamin - Wrens Main, Wrens
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002439086 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Imerys Oilfield Solutions, Wrens
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058240345 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Battle Lumber Co Inc, Wadley
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 21 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3047WBTTLL11261 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Imerys Oilfield Solutions, Wrens
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058240345 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Louisville, City Of (Forstmann Wpcp), Louisville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067190676 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Coastal Processing Llc, Louisville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $7,441.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067199926 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Fulghum Industries In, Wadley
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000789120 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Fulghum Industries In, Wadley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000789120 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Georgia Us Highway 1 Inert Waste Landfill, Wrens
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063657948 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Wrens Wpcp, Wrens
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064597798 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Universal Scrap & Recyclers, Llc Of Wadley, Wadley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070030289 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Thiele Kaolin Co-Hobbs Mine, Stapleton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070235541 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Georgia Us Highway 1 Inert Waste Landfill, Wrens
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071401365 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Battle Lumber Co Inc, Wadley
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055129588 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Fulghum Industries In, Wadley
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110000789120 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Bartow, Town Of (Bartow Wpcp), Bartow
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064583794 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Southern Natural Gas Co., Wrens
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007356949 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Wadley, City Of (Wadley Wpcp), Wadley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010041748 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Kamin - Wrens Calcine Plant, Wrens
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001388873 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Georgia Clay Mining Llc, Wrens
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005706441 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Battle Lumber Co Inc, Wadley
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055129588 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Former Fire Department, Wadley
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038721979 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3

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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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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