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Monroe County, Georgia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Monroe County is 153.4 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 1,345 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (994), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (240), Rail grade crossing (54). 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: 33.026, -83.8828.

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 Monroe 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	35.5	23.8	1.49xSignificant	27 to 45.8	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	8.7	6.6	1.32x	4.9 to 14.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	14.7	11.3	1.3x	9.9 to 21.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	38.9	30.2	1.29xSignificant	31 to 48.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	59.9	51.8	1.16x	49.9 to 71.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.2	18.7	1.08x	14.1 to 28.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	153.4	143.2	1.07x	136.6 to 171.9	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	15.3	14.5	1.06x	10.2 to 22.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	460.7	453.4	1.02x	430.1 to 493	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.8	8.7	1.01x	5.3 to 14.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.9	13.9	0.93x	8.5 to 19.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.6	17.9	0.93x	11.1 to 24.1	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11.7	13	0.9x	6.8 to 18.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.7	18.5	0.85x	10.5 to 22.9	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 Monroe County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,716.5	9,842.6	+9%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.5	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	88.6	59.8	+48%	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	105.5	96.9	+9%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	26.7	28.6	-7%	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.

Formaldehyde25.42 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde2.45 per million
Benzene0.87 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,345 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

Industrial wastewater discharge994
NPDES wastewater discharge permit240
Rail grade crossing54
Gas station (mapped facility)26
Air permit holder (minor source)12
Major air pollution source2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Heliport2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Public airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Coal power plant1
Gas power plant1
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)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.

Scherer Steam Electric Generating Plant, Juliette
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium And Barium Compounds, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Vanadium compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,014,143 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 31046SCHRR10986 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.5
Scherer, Juliette
Coal power plant.
Record ID 6257 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 8
Ga Power Plant R.W. Scherer, Juliette
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007356066 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Forsyth, City Of (Northeast Wpcp), Forsyth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $13,004.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017935635 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Strickland Loop Mswl, Forsyth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070011841 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Georgia Power Co. (Plant Scherer), Juliette
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070025301 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Custom Metal Recycling, Forsyth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070046055 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ga Power Plant R.W. Scherer, Juliette
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007356066 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Perdue Farms Inc Forsyth Feedmill, Forsyth
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000359889 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Heidelberg Materials Southeast Agg Llc - Monroe County Quarry, Bolingbroke
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007356075 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Encore Industries Inc., Forsyth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070344435 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Southern Forest Industries, Forsyth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007085279 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Ga Power Plant R.W. Scherer, Juliette
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007356066 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Smarr Energy Facility, Forsyth
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001427215 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Heidelberg Materials Southeast Agg Llc - Monroe County Quarry, Bolingbroke
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110007356075 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Southern Forest Industries, Forsyth
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110007085279 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Ga Power Plant R.W. Scherer, Juliette
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007356066 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Smarr Energy Center, Forsyth
Gas power plant.
Record ID 7829 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.2
Smarr Energy Facility, Forsyth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001427215 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Perdue Foods Llc - Forsyth Feedmill, Forsyth
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Selenium, Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds and 1 more.
TRI facility ID 31029CGLSF123IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Heidelberg Materials Southeast Agg Llc (Monroe County Quarry), Bolingbroke
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit GA0046558: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Department Of Natural Resources (High Falls State Park Wpcp), Jackson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012322762 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Reames - Forsyth, Forsyth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070816486 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Smarr Energy Facility, Forsyth
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001427215 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Oconee Concrete Co. (Juliette, Ga), Juliette
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070793306 (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 Monroe 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 Monroe 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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