MS / county FIPS 28087 / county research

Lowndes County, Mississippi: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Lowndes County is 178.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Esophagus deaths at 2.1 times the U.S. rate and Pancreas deaths at 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 426 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (150), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (138), Brownfield property (26). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 40 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: 33.516, -88.4306.

How this county ranks in Mississippi

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 Lowndes County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	Deaths	7.6	3.7	2.05xSignificant	5 to 11.2	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	8.4	4.6	1.83xSignificant	5.5 to 12.2	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	4.4	2.7	1.63x	2.5 to 7.3	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	6.5	4.4	1.48x	3.9 to 10.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	5	3.4	1.47x	2.9 to 8.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	25.2	17.9	1.41xSignificant	20.1 to 31.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	15.6	11.3	1.38xSignificant	11.8 to 20.2	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	178.8	143.2	1.25xSignificant	165.1 to 193.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	64.1	51.8	1.24xSignificant	56.1 to 73	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	37	30.2	1.23xSignificant	31 to 43.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	17	13.9	1.22x	13.1 to 21.9	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.9	4.1	1.2x	2.9 to 7.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	17.2	14.5	1.19x	12.9 to 22.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.7	6.6	1.17x	5.1 to 11.2	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.3	5.7	1.11x	3.8 to 9.8	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.2	4.8	1.08x	3.1 to 8.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	476.7	453.4	1.05xSignificant	453.7 to 500.7	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6.8	6.6	1.03x	4.3 to 10.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.7	18.5	0.9x	12.5 to 21.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.8	18.7	0.9x	12.8 to 21.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.8	8.7	0.78x	4.4 to 10.2	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	7.7	13	0.59x	4.9 to 11.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	10.3	23.8	0.43x	7.1 to 14.5	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 Lowndes County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,169.5	9,842.6	+34%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.5	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	88.4	59.8	+48%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	9.3	6.2	+50%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	102.5	96.9	+6%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	19	28.6	-34%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 40 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde27.55 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde2.71 per million
Naphthalene1.07 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing150
NPDES wastewater discharge permit138
Brownfield property26
Gas station (mapped facility)20
Air permit holder (minor source)18
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)14
TRI reporting facility13
Major air pollution source10
Large hazardous waste generator9
Small hazardous waste generator6
Large greenhouse gas emitter5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
Hazardous waste transporter4
Commercial airport3
Public airport1
Heliport1
Biomass power plant1
Gas power plant1
Superfund (NPL) site1
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.

Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp - Columbus, Columbus
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 52.5. NPL Site.
EPA site ID MSD990866329 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Columbus Cellulose Fibers, Columbus
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Ammonia, Hydrogen sulfide and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 9,684,232 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 39703CLMBSCARSO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.9
International Paper, Columbus Mill, Columbus
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $200,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000590940 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.4
Nouryon Pulp And Performance Chemicals, Columbus
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $37,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040941531 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.2
Nouryon Pulp & Performance Chemicals Llc, Columbus
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Chlorine, Naphthalene, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 308,087 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 39701KMNRDNASHV (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
Steel Dynamics Inc Flat Roll Group Columbus Div, Columbus
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Zinc compounds, Certain glycol ethers, n-Butyl alcohol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 284,213 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 39701SVRCR1INDU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
Columbus Brick Co, Columbus
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen fluoride, Lead, Manganese compounds. Reports carcinogens. 69,787 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 39705CLMBS114BR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Abb Motors & Mechanical Inc., Columbus
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Nickel, Copper, Manganese and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 13,178 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 39701BLDRL7INDU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
U.S. Tva Caledonia Combined Cycle Plant, Steens
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 670,000 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3976WTVCLD255LN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Steel Dynamics Columbus, Llc, Columbus
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $24,300.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041596902 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Nouryon Pulp And Performance Chemicals, Columbus
Major air pollution source. Penalties $37,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040941531 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Tva Caledonia Combined Cycle Plant, Steens
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016774864 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Apac-Mississippi Inc Columbus Asphalt Plant, Columbus
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens. 286 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 39701PCMSS462LA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Valmet Inc, Columbus
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002225663 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
International Paper, Columbus Mill, Columbus
Major air pollution source. Penalties $200,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000590940 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Reynolds R. Ridgely Wastewater Plant, Columbus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011050600 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Nouryon Pulp And Performance Chemicals, Columbus
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $37,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040941531 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Nouryon Pulp And Performance Chemicals, Columbus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $37,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040941531 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Valmet Inc Service Center, Columbus
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 68 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 39702BLTMN402YO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.9
Columbus Brick Company Inc, Columbus
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000377681 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Delta Industries Inc - Plant 41, Columbus
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead. Reports carcinogens. 44 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3970WDLTNDCHARL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
International Paper, Columbus Mill, Columbus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $200,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000590940 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Nouryon Pulp And Performance Chemicals, Columbus
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $37,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040941531 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Golden Triangle Mill Service, Columbus
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 2 more. 1,516 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3970WGLDNT1947A (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.4
Golden Triangle Mill Service, Columbus
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039493474 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2

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 Lowndes 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 Lowndes 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.

Scan an address in Lowndes County View on the heat map All Mississippi counties