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Walker County, Georgia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Walker County is 165.5 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 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 409 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (201), Rail grade crossing (96), Industrial wastewater discharge (79). 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: 34.7861, -85.3261.

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 Walker County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	80.3	51.8	1.55xSignificant	72.5 to 88.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	7	4.8	1.46x	4.8 to 9.9	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	7.8	5.7	1.37x	5.3 to 11.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41.1	30.2	1.36xSignificant	35.7 to 47.2	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.6	17.9	1.32xSignificant	19 to 28.9	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5.8	4.6	1.26x	3.8 to 8.5	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.3	4.4	1.2x	3.4 to 7.9	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.4	6.2	1.19x	4.9 to 10.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	165.5	143.2	1.16xSignificant	154.1 to 177.6	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.1	8.7	1.05x	6.5 to 12.3	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	3.8	3.7	1.03x	2.3 to 6.1	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	19.2	18.7	1.03x	15.5 to 23.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	456.9	453.4	1.01x	437.2 to 477.4	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.1	4.1	1x	2.5 to 6.4	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.5	6.6	0.98x	4.4 to 9.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	10.6	11.3	0.94x	7.9 to 14	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	6.1	6.6	0.92x	4.1 to 8.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.5	13.9	0.9x	9.5 to 16.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.3	18.5	0.83x	11.8 to 19.5	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	10.4	13	0.8x	7.3 to 14.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	17.6	23.8	0.74x	13.8 to 22.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	10.2	14.5	0.7x	7.5 to 13.7	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 Walker County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,808.7	9,842.6	+20%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.3	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	60.1	59.8	+1%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.1	6.2	-1%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	89.1	96.9	-8%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	36.6	28.6	+28%	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.

Formaldehyde24.09 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde2.37 per million
Benzene0.99 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 195 good, 4 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 48, peak 181.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit201
Rail grade crossing96
Industrial wastewater discharge79
Air permit holder (minor source)16
Public airport3
Brownfield property3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Major air pollution source2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Heliport1
Superfund (NPL) site1
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.

Mathis Brothers Landfill (South Marble Top Road), Kensington
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 30.8. NPL Site.
EPA site ID GAD980838619 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
, Rossville
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 132950004 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 7.1
Walker County Wpcp, Chickamauga
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006644747 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Astec, Rossville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Chromium, Nickel And Nickel Compounds, Manganese compounds and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 17 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3074WSTCXX2WGRD (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Yates Bleachery Company, Flintstone
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007484285 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Roper Corp, La Fayette
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel compounds, Cobalt compounds, Lead, Manganese and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 8 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30728RPRCR1507B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
City Of Lafayette Wpcp, Lafayette
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006644177 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Yates Bleachery Company, Flintstone
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007484285 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Valley Mechanical Inc, Rossville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005712452 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Bohannon Used Auto Truck Parts, Inc., Rossville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070024744 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Basic Ready Mix - Chickamauga, Chickamauga
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070027788 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Chattanooga Valley Used Cars & Parts, Inc., Flintstone
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070046051 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Walker County Ready Mix, Chickamauga
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070837262 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Nissin Brake Georgia Inc, Rock Spring
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030744586 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Roper Corp, La Fayette
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000359282 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Tri-Valley Sales Inc, Flintstone
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110007250330 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Nissin Brake Georgia Inc, Rock Spring
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110030744586 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Walker County Water & Sewer Authority (Walker County Wsa Wtp), Flintstone
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071541341 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Labrie Environmental Group, La Fayette
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007484659 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Astec, Rossville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015910264 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
George'S Dry Cleaner, La Fayette
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972599 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Crystal Springs Print Works, Chickamauga
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977547 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
South Duke Street Property, Lafayette
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072252548 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Labrie Environmental Group, La Fayette
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007484659 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Astec, Rossville
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110015910264 (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 Walker 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 Walker 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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