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Newton County, Mississippi: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Newton County is 177 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Pancreas deaths at 2 times the U.S. rate and Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 137 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (59), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (49), Air permit holder (minor source) (8). 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: 32.4188, -89.1189.

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 Newton County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Pancreas	Deaths	22.9	11.3	2.03xSignificant	15.4 to 33.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	12	6.6	1.82xSignificant	6.7 to 20.1	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	23	13.9	1.65xSignificant	15.6 to 33	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	70.2	51.8	1.36xSignificant	56.9 to 86	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	39.1	30.2	1.29x	29.4 to 51.3	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.4	17.9	1.25x	14.6 to 33.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	177	143.2	1.24xSignificant	154.8 to 201.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	472.5	453.4	1.04x	434.6 to 512.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19	18.5	1.03x	11.9 to 28.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.2	18.7	0.97x	11.6 to 27.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	20.1	23.8	0.84x	12.9 to 29.9	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 Newton County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,916.7	9,842.6	+62%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	69.9	75.3	-7%	years
Child mortality	109.2	59.8	+83%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	10.3	6.2	+66%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	125.2	96.9	+29%	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.

Formaldehyde24.16 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.41 per million
Pahpom0.73 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing59
NPDES wastewater discharge permit49
Air permit holder (minor source)8
Gas station (mapped facility)7
TRI reporting facility5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Major air pollution source2
Public airport2
Large greenhouse gas emitter1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Esco Group Llc, Newton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Phenol, Naphthalene, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Manganese compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 30,634 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 39345SCCRPHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Biewer Sawmill - Newton Llc, Newton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol. 299,573 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3934WBWRLM331CL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Peco Foods, Inc., Sebastopol
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007649884 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Biewer Lumber, Newton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070234156 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Esco Corporation - Newton, Newton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070691841 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Conehatta School Wwtf, Conehatta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009860882 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
La Z Boy Inc, Plant 21, Newton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002079713 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Peco Foods Inc, Lake
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055498313 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Mississippi Christian Service Camp, Newton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008519610 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Biewer Sawmill Newton Llc, Newton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067569116 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Esco Corporation - Newton, Newton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070691841 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
La Z Boy Inc Plant 21, Newton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3934WLZBYN9482E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.3
Chunky Potw, Chunky
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008514857 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Newton Potw, Newton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008515883 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Biewer Sawmill Newton Llc, Newton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067569116 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Esco Corporation - Newton, Newton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070691841 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Peco Foods Inc - Lake Feed Mill, Lake
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Manganese compounds, Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 3909WPCFDS486PN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Union Potw, Union
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008516445 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Standing Pine Wwtf, Conehatta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009862149 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Biewer Sawmill Newton Llc, Newton
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067569116 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Decatur Potw, Number 2, Decatur
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008515017 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
James H Easom Fld, Newton
Public airport. O.
Record ID M23 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Hickory Potw, Hickory
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002216209 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Decatur Potw, Number 1, Decatur
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008515008 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Pat Harrison Waterway District, Turkey Creek Water Park, Decatur
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008518568 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8

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 Newton 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 Newton 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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