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Whitfield County, Georgia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Whitfield County is 156.9 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 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,289 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (696), Industrial wastewater discharge (280), Air permit holder (minor source) (81). 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: 34.8014, -84.988.

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 Whitfield County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41.6	30.2	1.38xSignificant	36.6 to 47.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	65.7	51.8	1.27xSignificant	59.4 to 72.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.3	6.6	1.26x	6.2 to 11	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	17.8	14.5	1.23x	14.5 to 21.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	10.4	8.7	1.2x	8 to 13.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.3	17.9	1.13x	16.7 to 24.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	21.2	18.7	1.13x	17.6 to 25.4	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.1	3.7	1.11x	2.6 to 6.1	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	156.9	143.2	1.1xSignificant	146.9 to 167.5	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.7	4.4	1.07x	3.1 to 6.9	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.6	6.2	1.06x	4.6 to 9.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	470.4	453.4	1.04x	452.8 to 488.6	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.2	4.1	1.02x	2.7 to 6.2	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	16.8	16.4	1.02x	10 to 26.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.5	11.3	1.02x	9 to 14.6	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	14.1	13.9	1.01x	11.2 to 17.6	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	4.6	4.6	1x	3 to 6.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.7	4.8	0.98x	3.1 to 6.9	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	5.4	5.7	0.95x	3.7 to 7.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.5	18.5	0.95x	14.3 to 21.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.2	3.4	0.94x	1.9 to 5	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	5.7	6.6	0.86x	3.9 to 8	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	10.6	13	0.82x	8 to 13.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	18.8	23.8	0.79x	15.3 to 22.8	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 Whitfield County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,692.9	9,842.6	-2%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.1	75.3	-0%	years
Child mortality	50.7	59.8	-15%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.4	6.2	-13%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	69.6	96.9	-28%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	19	28.6	-33%	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.

Formaldehyde25.07 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde2.49 per million
Benzene1.04 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,289 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit696
Industrial wastewater discharge280
Air permit holder (minor source)81
Rail grade crossing62
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)42
Gas station (mapped facility)30
Small hazardous waste generator30
TRI reporting facility27
Major air pollution source8
Large hazardous waste generator8
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Landfill (mapped facility)6
Large greenhouse gas emitter5
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
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.

Harcros Chemicals Inc, Dalton
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $44,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044310144 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.7
Mfg Chemical, Inc. - Callahan Plant, Dalton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000859768 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.2
Harcros Chemicals Inc, Dalton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Methanol, Epichlorohydrin, Chloroacetic acid and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 49,862 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30720FRMND134PH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Textile Rubber And Chemical Company (Ptg Group), Dalton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Carbon disulfide, Zinc compounds, Antimony And Antimony Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 27,756 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30720TXTLR1300T (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Southern Chemical & Textiles Inc, Dalton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Epichlorohydrin, Methyl acrylate, Maleic anhydride, Diethanolamine. Reports carcinogens. 22,641 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30721STHRN653PE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Tiarco-Rst, Dalton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acrylic acid, Methanol, Ethyl acrylate, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 6,250 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30722STNDR1010V (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Trinseo Llc, Dalton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, 1,3-Butadiene, Ammonia, Vinylidene chloride and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 5,683 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3072WSTYRN1468P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Cargill Inc, Dalton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Epichlorohydrin, n-Butyl alcohol, Maleic anhydride, 4,4'-Isopropylidenediphenol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 4,010 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30721PLYST26BRK (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Shiroki-Ga, Llc, Dalton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058162036 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.2
Beaulieu Fibers-Apc, Dalton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001426485 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Harcros Chemicals Inc, Dalton
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $44,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044310144 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Mfg Chemical Inc, Dalton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Maleic anhydride, Xylene (mixed isomers), Styrene, Methyl methacrylate and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 912 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30721FBRCH1804D (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Americhem Inc Dga, Dalton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Antimony And Antimony Compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Antimony compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 633 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30721MRCHM115AB (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Polyventive - Dalton, Dalton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diethanolamine, Chloroacetic acid, n-Butyl alcohol, Nonylphenol and 2 more. 40,469 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30721MRCNM1202D (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Shaw Industries Number 80 Westcott Plant, Dalton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001424174 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Hanwha Q Cells Usa Inc, Dalton
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $3,290.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070262563 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Global Textile Services, Dalton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Zinc compounds. 9,115 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30722GLBLT120KE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
Shaw Industries Number 80 Westcott Plant, Dalton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001424174 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Hanwha Q Cells Usa Inc, Dalton
Major air pollution source. Penalties $3,290.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070262563 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Southern Chemical & Textiles, Dalton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000359219 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Universal Textile Technologies, Dalton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005984462 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Polyventive, Llc, Dalton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000359193 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Hanwha Q Cells Usa Inc, Dalton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Copper. Reports carcinogens. 30 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3072WHNWHQ3NEXU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Mfg Chemical Inc Callahan Road, Dalton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Maleic anhydride, Acrylic acid, Methanol. 1,990 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 30720PRCHM117CA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Chem-Tech Finishers Inc, Dalton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000359228 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5

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 Whitfield 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 Whitfield 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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