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Leake County, Mississippi: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Leake County is 168.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Leukemia deaths at 2.2 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 59 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (35), Air permit holder (minor source) (10), Brownfield property (6). 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: 32.7491, -89.5242.

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 Leake County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	Deaths	12.3	5.7	2.16xSignificant	7 to 20.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	49.3	30.2	1.63xSignificant	38.2 to 62.7	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	168.5	143.2	1.18xSignificant	146.9 to 192.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	54.7	51.8	1.06x	43.3 to 68.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.6	18.7	0.94x	11.2 to 26.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	399.9	453.4	0.88x	366.1 to 436.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	11.7	13.9	0.84x	6.6 to 19.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	14.2	17.9	0.79x	8.3 to 22.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.1	18.5	0.76x	8.3 to 22.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	15.2	23.8	0.64x	9.1 to 24	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 Leake County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,204	9,842.6	+44%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.2	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	63.4	59.8	+6%	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	114.8	96.9	+18%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde23.63 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde2.33 per million
Pahpom0.69 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit35
Air permit holder (minor source)10
Brownfield property6
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Public airport2
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Tyson Farms Inc. - Carthage Ms Processing Plant, Carthage
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia, Peracetic acid, Hydrogen sulfide. 9,745,550 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 39051CHCTWHWY35 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Tyson Foods Inc, Carthage Processing Plant, Carthage
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002326698 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Frontier Ford Inc, Carthage
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006066372 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Transit Authority Old Dump Site, Philadelphia
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015330621 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Chevron 25/35 Gas Station, Carthage
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044618143 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Leake County Industrial Park - Northeast, Carthage
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971706 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Mudcats (Facility Id #4314), Carthage
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978097 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Mbci-Cme Building, Carthage
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978185 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tyson Foods Inc, Carthage Processing Plant, Carthage
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002326698 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Walnut Grove Potw, Walnut Grove
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008516524 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Carthage-Leake County, Carthage
Public airport. O.
Record ID 08M (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Carthage Potw, Carthage
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008514802 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Leake County Board Of Education, Thomastown Attendance Center, Thomastown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022885332 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Pearl River Foods Llc, Carthage
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070047903 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Tyson Foods Inc, Carthage Processing Plant, Carthage
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002326698 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mmc Materials Inc, Carthage, Carthage
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002327054 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dickerson And Bowen Inc, Carthage Asphalt Plant #4, Carthage
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007108174 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Double C Feed & Seed Store Llc, Carthage
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008512314 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Leake County Board Of Education, Edinburg Attendance Center, Carthage
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008517355 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hai Nguyen, Poultry, Carthage
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016786398 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
City Auto Salvage Inc, Carthage
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038344618 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tennessee Valley Authority, Singleton To Leake Transmission Line, Carthage
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044562942 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Monarch Metal Recycling, Carthage
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044605870 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mdot, Leake Co Maint Headquarters, Carthage
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056978374 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mcmillan Park, Carthage
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070031709 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Leake 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 Leake 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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