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Copiah County, Mississippi: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Copiah County is 174.4 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 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 175 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (98), Rail grade crossing (28), Air permit holder (minor source) (14). 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: 31.8675, -90.4268.

How this county ranks in Mississippi

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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 Copiah County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Stomach	New cases	12	6.6	1.82xSignificant	7.3 to 18.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	43.8	30.2	1.45xSignificant	34.8 to 54.6	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	18	13.9	1.29x	12.4 to 25.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.2	6.6	1.24x	4.6 to 13.7	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	174.4	143.2	1.22xSignificant	155.5 to 195.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	58.8	51.8	1.14x	48.3 to 71.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.7	11.3	1.04x	7.4 to 17.8	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.9	8.7	1.02x	5.1 to 14.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	446.5	453.4	0.98x	415.5 to 479.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	22	23.8	0.92x	15.3 to 30.7	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.4	17.9	0.92x	11.2 to 23.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.6	14.5	0.87x	7.7 to 19.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	14.6	18.7	0.78x	9.7 to 21.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	13.6	18.5	0.74x	8.7 to 20.4	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 Copiah County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,985.1	9,842.6	+62%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.7	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	109.8	59.8	+84%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8.4	6.2	+35%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	115.5	96.9	+19%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	17.9	28.6	-37%	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.

Formaldehyde24.02 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.31 per million
Benzene0.62 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit98
Rail grade crossing28
Air permit holder (minor source)14
Brownfield property8
Gas station (mapped facility)8
TRI reporting facility5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Public airport2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Major air pollution source1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
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.

Sanderson Farms Llc, Hazlehurst
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia, Hydrogen sulfide, Peracetic acid and 1 more. 3,594,970 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 39083SNDRSHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Sanderson Farms, Inc., Hazlehurst
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055519979 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.2
Dg Foods Llc, Hazlehurst
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025342476 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Hitachi Energy Usa Inc., Crystal Springs
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Copper, Manganese. 4,640 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 39059KHLMN101KU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
Copiah County Industrial Park, Hazlehurst
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $14,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008505867 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Hazlehurst Potw, Activated Sludge, Hazlehurst
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $11,250.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008515393 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Hazlehurst Potw, Lagoon, Hazlehurst
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,063.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008515400 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Wesson Potw, Wesson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,750.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002307405 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Abb Kuhlman, Crystal Springs Plant, Crystal Springs
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003996515 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Westlake Compounds Llc, Hazlehurst
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000590655 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Westlake Compounds Llc, Hazlehurst
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methyl methacrylate, Antimony And Antimony Compounds, Styrene, Chromium and 2 more. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 39077GRGGL20043 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Waltman Hall Inc, Country Junction Truck Stop, Wesson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008518666 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Hinds Community College, Utica
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016783051 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Sanderson Farms, Hazlehurst Production, Gallman
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007109093 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Hitachi Energy Usa Inc, Crystal Springs
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070862032 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Dg Foods Llc, Hazlehurst
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025342476 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Renewable Wood Solutions Llc, Crystal Springs
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071356673 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Guynes Auto Parts (Former), Crystal Springs
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038359166 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Crystal Springs Sports Complex, Crystal Springs
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060390447 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Water Plant Property (Former), Crystal Springs
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973147 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Chautauqua Park, Crystal Springs
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071975094 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Bernstein Shirt Factory (Former), Crystal Springs
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977279 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Arnold Tire Shop, Crystal Springs
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978091 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sojourner Property, Crystal Springs
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978092 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Jones Uhaul, Crystal Springs
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978093 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) 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 Copiah County

Mississippi 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 Copiah County, and their findings.
Mississippi vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Mississippi health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Mississippi 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.
Mississippi 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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