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Macon County, Georgia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Macon County is 175.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 133 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (49), Rail grade crossing (43), Industrial wastewater discharge (19). 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: 32.3479, -84.051.

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 Macon County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	74.6	51.8	1.44xSignificant	57.1 to 96.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	37.5	30.2	1.24x	25.2 to 54.4	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	175.1	143.2	1.22xSignificant	145.9 to 209	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	473.1	453.4	1.04x	424.5 to 526.1	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 Macon County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,938	9,842.6	+31%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.9	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	87.9	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.

Formaldehyde24.38 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.44 per million
Pahpom0.79 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit49
Rail grade crossing43
Industrial wastewater discharge19
Air permit holder (minor source)5
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Major air pollution source2
Brownfield property2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Biomass 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.

International Paper Co, Oglethorpe
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 5,705,517 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 31068BCKYCOLDST (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.7
Global Cellulose Fibers - Flint River Mill, Oglethorpe
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056968045 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.6
Global Cellulose Fibers - Flint River Mill, Oglethorpe
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056968045 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Global Cellulose Fibers - Flint River Mill, Oglethorpe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056968045 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Global Cellulose Fibers - Flint River Mill, Oglethorpe
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056968045 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Allens, Inc., Montezuma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061776056 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Macon County Recycling, Montezuma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070016916 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Mullite Co. Of America - English Mining Area, Andersonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070026108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ellaville Recycling, Ellaville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070026643 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Xtg Plastics Recycling, Inc., Montezuma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070674568 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Montezuma, City Of (Spring Creek Wrf), Montezuma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006644300 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Allens, Inc., Montezuma
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110061776056 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Furst-Mcness Co. - Montezuma, Montezuma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070064720 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ideal Pellets, Oglethorpe
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070864869 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Montezuma, City Of (Spring Creek Wpcp), Montezuma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071660665 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Tyson Farms, Inc. - Oglethorpe Feed Mill, Oglethorpe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070018102 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Former Ideal School, Ideal
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983399 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Macon County Government Building, Oglethorpe
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983400 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Marshallville, City Of (Marshallville Wpcp), Marshallville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010039029 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Montezuma, City Of (Spring Creek Wpcp), Montezuma
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit GA0050338: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Tyson Farms Inc Oglethorpe Feed Mill, Oglethorpe
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 31068CRGLLHWY90 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Flint River Operations, Oglethorpe
Biomass power plant.
Record ID 50465 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 2.6
Reames Concrete Co - Montezuma, Montezuma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070007497 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Oglethorpe, City Of (Oglethorpe Wpcp), Oglethorpe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010039813 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
The Oaks Nursing Home (The Oaks Nursing Home Wpcp), Marshallville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015723706 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3

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 Macon 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 Macon 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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