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Pontotoc County, Mississippi: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Pontotoc County is 216.3 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 2.3 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 103 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (58), Gas station (mapped facility) (16), Air permit holder (minor source) (9). 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: 34.224, -89.0355.

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 Pontotoc County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	Deaths	8.5	3.7	2.3xSignificant	4.8 to 14.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	33.3	17.9	1.86xSignificant	25.3 to 43.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	54	30.2	1.79xSignificant	43.9 to 65.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	80	51.8	1.54xSignificant	67.7 to 93.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	216.3	143.2	1.51xSignificant	195.2 to 239.2	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	9.3	6.6	1.41x	5.6 to 14.9	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	11.9	8.7	1.37x	7.6 to 18.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13.8	11.3	1.22x	9.1 to 20.2	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	17.2	14.5	1.19x	11.4 to 24.9	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	522.8	453.4	1.15xSignificant	489.5 to 557.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.1	13.9	1.09x	10.1 to 21.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.2	18.5	0.88x	10.9 to 23.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	19.8	23.8	0.83x	13.5 to 28	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	13.5	18.7	0.72x	8.7 to 20.1	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 Pontotoc County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,380.9	9,842.6	+16%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.7	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	65.8	59.8	+10%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.8	6.2	+10%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	102.3	96.9	+6%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	22	28.6	-23%	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.

Formaldehyde24.25 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde2.43 per million
Benzene0.71 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit58
Gas station (mapped facility)16
Air permit holder (minor source)9
Rail grade crossing6
Major air pollution source2
Public airport2
Brownfield property2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Landfill (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.

Paslode Pontotoc, Pontotoc
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Propylene. 111,966 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 38863PSLDC364ST (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Three Rivers Landfill, Pontotoc
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072077233 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Pontotoc Spring, Pontotoc
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 166 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 3886WPNTTC26IND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Three Rivers Landfill, Pontotoc
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072077233 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Paslode Pontotoc, Pontotoc
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000376101 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Three Rivers Landfill, Pontotoc
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072077233 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Moog Automotive, Pontotoc
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016772553 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Pontotoc County, Pontotoc
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022413805 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Pontotoc, City Of, Activated Sludge Facility, Pontotoc
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039775357 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Steve Mcminn Dba Smokehouse Meats, Pontotoc
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010824812 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Moore Utility Company, Moore Subdivision, Pontotoc
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064208183 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Five Star Products Inc, Pontotoc
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071723207 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Pontotoc County Industrial Park Wwtp, Pontotoc
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010121304 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Brooks-Dehart Building, Pontotoc
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973445 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ram Golf Plant, Pontotoc
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071984312 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Miss Dept Of W F & Parks, Trace State Park, Belden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008519246 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Cedar Meadows Mobile Home Community, Pontotoc
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016778851 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Moore Rentals Of Pontotoc Llc, Pontotoc
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020142834 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Ecru Potw, Ecru
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008515106 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Pontotoc County, Pontotoc
Public airport. O.
Record ID 22M (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/846413994 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
South Pontotoc Attendance Center, Pontotoc
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008517220 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Premier Prints Inc, Sherman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110023136391 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Paslode Pontotoc, Pontotoc
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000376101 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Paslode Pontotoc, Pontotoc
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000376101 (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 Pontotoc 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 Pontotoc 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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