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Oconee County, Georgia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Oconee County is 114 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 824 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (478), Industrial wastewater discharge (276), Rail grade crossing (32). 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: 33.8319, -83.4162.

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 Oconee County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Brain & nervous system	New cases	8.9	6.2	1.44x	5.4 to 13.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	26	23.8	1.09x	20.2 to 33	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.1	18.7	1.07x	15 to 26.5	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	12.8	13	0.98x	8.5 to 18.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	419.6	453.4	0.93x	394.7 to 445.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.6	18.5	0.84x	11.1 to 21.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.4	6.6	0.82x	3.1 to 9	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	14.6	17.9	0.82x	10.3 to 20.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	11.6	14.5	0.8x	7.8 to 16.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	114	143.2	0.8x	101.3 to 127.9	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.7	8.7	0.77x	4 to 10.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	7.9	11.3	0.7x	4.8 to 12.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	9.6	13.9	0.69x	6.2 to 14.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	35.1	51.8	0.68x	28.3 to 43.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	18.2	30.2	0.6x	13.4 to 24.2	2020-2024

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 Oconee County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	5,598.7	9,842.6	-43%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.8	75.3	+6%	years
Child mortality	22.8	59.8	-62%	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	57.9	96.9	-40%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	13.3	28.6	-53%	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.

Formaldehyde25.84 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde2.49 per million
Benzene1 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit478
Industrial wastewater discharge276
Rail grade crossing32
Gas station (mapped facility)19
Air permit holder (minor source)12
Small hazardous waste generator4
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
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.

Caterpillar Inc, Athens
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060258108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.3
Caterpillar Inc, Athens
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060258108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Caterpillar Inc, Athens
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060258108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ameripride Services, Inc. (Watkinsville Facility), Watkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045943841 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Oconee County Calls Creek Wpcp, Watkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $21,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010038422 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Caterpillar Inc, Athens
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110060258108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ameripride Services, Inc. (Watkinsville Facility), Watkinsville
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110045943841 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Athens-Clarke County (Cedar Creek Wpcp), Athens
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039845184 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Oconee County Board Of Commissioners (Rocky Branch Wrf), Watkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064624278 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Athens-Clarke County (Cedar Creek Wpcp), Athens
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit GA0034584: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Aramark Uniform & Career Apparel Group, Llc, Watkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046305761 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Wm ? Athens Hauling, Watkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072073799 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Barnett Shoals, Watkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013762026 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
City Of Watkinsville Ms4, Watkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070053942 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Lowe'S Of Athens Ga #506, Athens
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070490344 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Oconee County Macon Highway Collection Site
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/313026730 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
City Of Bogart Ms4, Bogart
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070045975 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Georgia Skin Cancer & Aesthetic Dermatology, Watkinsville
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071062588 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Southwire Watkinsville Plant, Watkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010041999 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Smith Setzer & Sons Of Ga Inc, Watkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013433579 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Home Depot Store #129, Athens
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018901367 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Calls Creek Water Reclamation Facility Upgrade, Watkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022318598 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Athens Academy, Athens
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110026029946 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Benson'S Bakery, Bogart
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059594657 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Oconee County Board Of Commissioners (Rocky Branch Wpcp), Watkinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064583767 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Oconee 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 Oconee 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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