GA / county FIPS 13293 / county research

Upson County, Georgia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Upson County is 176.9 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 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 203 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (84), Rail grade crossing (42), Industrial wastewater discharge (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: 32.8444, -84.2926.

How this county ranks in Georgia

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Upson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	39.6	30.2	1.31xSignificant	31.2 to 49.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	67	51.8	1.29xSignificant	56.1 to 79.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	23.7	18.7	1.27x	17 to 32.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	18.2	14.5	1.26x	12.3 to 26.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	176.9	143.2	1.24xSignificant	158.3 to 197.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	16.2	13.9	1.17x	11 to 23.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13.1	11.3	1.16x	8.5 to 19.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.8	17.9	1.11x	14 to 27.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	470.7	453.4	1.04x	439.5 to 503.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24	23.8	1.01x	17.7 to 32	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14	18.5	0.76x	9.1 to 20.9	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 Upson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,550.4	9,842.6	+38%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.4	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	41.1	59.8	-31%	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	86	96.9	-11%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	13.4	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.

Formaldehyde24.67 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.88 per million
Acetaldehyde2.35 per million
Benzene0.79 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit84
Rail grade crossing42
Industrial wastewater discharge32
Air permit holder (minor source)12
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Major air pollution source6
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Small hazardous waste generator3
TRI reporting facility3
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Heliport1
Gas power plant1
Solar power plant1
Scrapyard (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.

Thomaston Pretreatment Facility, Thomaston
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $5,390.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070828213 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Interfor - Thomaston Div, Thomaston
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Lead, Mercury. Reports carcinogens. 124,712 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3028WNTRFR75BEN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Thomaston Pretreatment Facility, Thomaston
Major air pollution source. Penalties $5,390.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070828213 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Robbins Wood Preserving, Thomaston
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022522705 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Thomaston Pretreatment Facility, Thomaston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,390.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070828213 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Tencate Finishing (Southern Mills), Molena
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000357266 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Quad/Graphics Inc, The Rock
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000527216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Quad/Graphics Inc., The Rock
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Ethylene glycol. 22,534 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30285QDGRP100DU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Tencate Finishing (Southern Mills), Molena
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000357266 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Quad/Graphics Inc, The Rock
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000527216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Thomaston, City Of (Town Branch Wpcp), Thomaston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006644658 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Tencate Finishing (Southern Mills), Molena
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Formic acid. 1,011 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30258STHRN1683L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.3
Quad/Graphics Inc, The Rock
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000527216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Robbins Wood Preserving, Thomaston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022522705 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Transwaste Services - Thomaston, Thomaston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070023757 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ahs Incorporated, Thomaston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070026889 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Bell Creek Wpcp, Thomaston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070031378 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ranews Companies, Thomaston
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070594283 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ranews Companies, Thomaston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070594283 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Edward L Addison Generating Plant, Thomaston
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 30286LPSCR95YAM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Southern Power Company Addison Generating Plant, Thomaston
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001971439 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ranews Companies, Thomaston
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110070594283 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Thomaston, City Of (Bell Creek Wpcp), Thomaston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009139574 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Edward L. Addison Generating Plant, Thomaston
Gas power plant.
Record ID 55267 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.6
Yamaha Music Manufacturing Inc, Thomaston
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000357453 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5

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 Upson 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 Upson 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.

Scan an address in Upson County View on the heat map All Georgia counties