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Murray County, Georgia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Murray County is 187.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Bladder deaths at 2 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 408 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (196), Industrial wastewater discharge (113), Gas station (mapped facility) (31). 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: 34.786, -84.7427.

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 Murray County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	Deaths	8.1	4.1	1.98xSignificant	4.9 to 12.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	55.6	30.2	1.84xSignificant	46.6 to 66	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	87.3	51.8	1.69xSignificant	76 to 100.1	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	9.6	6.6	1.45x	6 to 14.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	11.6	8.7	1.33x	7.8 to 16.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	19.2	14.5	1.32x	14 to 25.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	187.8	143.2	1.31xSignificant	170.6 to 206.3	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6.2	4.8	1.29x	3.5 to 10.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.1	17.9	1.29x	17.2 to 30.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.9	6.6	1.2x	4.8 to 12.4	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20	18.5	1.08x	14.6 to 26.9	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	489.4	453.4	1.08xSignificant	461.3 to 518.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.8	18.7	1.06x	14.6 to 26.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.6	13.9	0.91x	8.6 to 18.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.2	11.3	0.9x	6.5 to 15.2	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	10.8	13	0.83x	6.6 to 16.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	17.5	23.8	0.74x	12.6 to 23.8	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 Murray County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,065.1	9,842.6	+23%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.5	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	78.1	59.8	+31%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7.7	6.2	+24%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	77.8	96.9	-20%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	21.6	28.6	-25%	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.

Formaldehyde22.91 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde2.12 per million
Benzene0.82 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 257 days: 232 good, 1 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 39, peak 112.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit196
Industrial wastewater discharge113
Gas station (mapped facility)31
Rail grade crossing26
Air permit holder (minor source)18
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
TRI reporting facility4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Public airport2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Major air pollution source1
EPA air quality monitor1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Gas power plant1
Pumped storage plant1
Solar 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.

Georgia Carpet Finishers Inc, Chatsworth
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001764476 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Murray County Landfill, Chatsworth
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034144129 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Shaw Inds Inc Plt We, Chatsworth
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000358951 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.6
Georgia Carpet Finishers Inc, Chatsworth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001764476 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Better Backers Inc Dyeing Div, Chatsworth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002443918 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Carmeuse Lime & Stone (Cisco Operation), Cisco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $24,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010039485 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Imerys Chatsworth Plant, Chatsworth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033182892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Better Backers Inc., Chatsworth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056571945 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
O-N Minerals Chemstone, Crandall
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070025507 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Appalachian Regional Port, Crandall
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070894572 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Premier Polymers, Chatsworth
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nonylphenol Ethoxylates, Copper compounds, Ethylene glycol, n-Butyl alcohol and 3 more. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 30705PRMRP234LW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Shaw Industries Group Inc Plant We, Chatsworth
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates. 46 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30705SHWND616DU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.3
Thomas A Smith Energy Facility, Dalton
Gas power plant.
Record ID 55382 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4.3
Murray County Landfill, Chatsworth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034144129 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Cimbar Performance Minerals, Inc., Chatsworth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070027830 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Georgia Carpet Finishers Inc, Chatsworth
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001764476 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Better Backers Inc Dyeing Div, Chatsworth
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110002443918 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Mohawk Industries Inc Eton F Acility, Eton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013575737 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Premier Polymers, Chatsworth
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014397777 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Imerys Chatsworth Plant, Chatsworth
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110033182892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Murray County Landfill, Chatsworth
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110034144129 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Thomas A. Smith Energy Facility, Dalton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002374216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Murray County Ms4, Chatsworth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070051363 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Thomas A. Smith Energy Facility, Dalton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002374216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Chatsworth Water Works Commission (Judson Vick Wpcp), Chatsworth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006623859 (U.S. EPA ECHO) 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 Murray 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 Murray 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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