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Pierce County, Georgia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Pierce County is 193.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 111 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (44), Rail grade crossing (24), Industrial wastewater discharge (15). 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: 31.3669, -82.2212.

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 Pierce 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	37.4	23.8	1.57xSignificant	26.8 to 50.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	47.2	30.2	1.56xSignificant	36.1 to 61	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	16.5	11.3	1.46x	10.1 to 25.6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	27	18.5	1.46x	18.4 to 38.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	72.4	51.8	1.4xSignificant	58.3 to 89.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	193.6	143.2	1.35xSignificant	169.4 to 220.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.5	17.9	1.09x	12.3 to 29.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	490.4	453.4	1.08x	451.6 to 531.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.8	13.9	0.99x	7.9 to 22.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	12.9	18.7	0.69x	7.4 to 21.3	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 Pierce County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,349.5	9,842.6	+36%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.1	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	70.8	59.8	+19%	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	102.5	96.9	+6%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	30.2	28.6	+5%	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.

Formaldehyde20.04 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde2.05 per million
Pahpom0.62 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit44
Rail grade crossing24
Industrial wastewater discharge15
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Air permit holder (minor source)5
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Major air pollution source3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Small hazardous waste generator2
Public airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1

Highest-severity records

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

Sundance Boats, Blackshear
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 154,543 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 31516SNDNC6131S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Ace Pole, Blackshear
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009455286 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.2
Sundance Boats, Inc., Blackshear
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000771406 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Beach Timber Co - Blackshear, Blackshear
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Arsenic And Arsenic Compounds, Copper And Copper Compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 770 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 31516CPLCNHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Ace Pole, Blackshear
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009455286 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Ace Pole, Blackshear
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009455286 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Ace Pole, Blackshear
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009455286 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Georgia Mineral Operations, Patterson
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds, Manganese compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region). 840 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3155WGRGMNZERBA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Georgia Mineral Operations, Patterson
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070814043 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Southern Ionics, Inc. - Offerman, Patterson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $11,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064024826 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Blackshear, City Of (Blackshear Wpcp), Blackshear
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067181123 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Sundance Boats, Inc., Blackshear
Major air pollution source. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000771406 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
West Fraser Blackshear Sawmill, Blackshear
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058037182 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Southern Ionics, Inc. - Offerman, Patterson
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $11,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064024826 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
American Egg Products, Inc., Blackshear
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $40,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008981771 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Progress Rail Services, Patterson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070018301 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Rayonier - Offerman Facility, Offerman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070026788 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Sundance Boats, Inc., Blackshear
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000771406 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Cal Maine Foods, Blackshear
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070254746 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Gilman Building Products Co, Blackshear
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015680770 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
United Parcel Service - Waycross Center, Blackshear
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,300,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005686748 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
City of Blackshear
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1050108653 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
City of Blackshear
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1050108660 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
City of Blackshear
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1050108663 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
City of Blackshear
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1050108668 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2

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 Pierce 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 Pierce 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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