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Alexander County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Alexander County is 169.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Kidney & renal pelvis deaths at 2.2 times the U.S. rate and Pancreas deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 168 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (54), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (51), Air permit holder (minor source) (28). 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: 35.9162, -81.181.

How this county ranks in North Carolina

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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 Alexander County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	7.6	3.4	2.24xSignificant	4.7 to 12.1	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	45.6	23.8	1.92xSignificant	37.2 to 55.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	17.3	11.3	1.53xSignificant	12.7 to 23.4	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	6.4	4.6	1.39x	3.7 to 10.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41.8	30.2	1.38xSignificant	34.5 to 50.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	69	51.8	1.33xSignificant	59.4 to 80	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	169.8	143.2	1.19xSignificant	154.3 to 186.5	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.7	17.9	1.04x	13.6 to 25.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.2	18.5	1.04x	14.1 to 25.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.3	13.9	1.03x	10.2 to 19.9	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	458.4	453.4	1.01x	431.9 to 486.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.8	18.7	0.9x	12.3 to 22.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.8	6.6	0.88x	3.2 to 9.9	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7	8.7	0.8x	4.2 to 11.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	8.8	14.5	0.61x	5.4 to 13.8	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 Alexander County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,846.8	9,842.6	+10%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.1	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	62.5	59.8	+5%	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	91.7	96.9	-5%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	23.5	28.6	-18%	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.

Formaldehyde20.39 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.87 per million
Acetaldehyde2.07 per million
Benzene1.05 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 245 days: 229 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 38, peak 80.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing54
NPDES wastewater discharge permit51
Air permit holder (minor source)28
Small hazardous waste generator6
Public airport5
Gas station (mapped facility)5
TRI reporting facility4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Solar power plant3
Major air pollution source2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Large hazardous waste generator2
EPA air quality monitor1
Brownfield property1

Highest-severity records

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

Piedmont Composites & Tooling Llc, Taylorsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate. Reports carcinogens. 93,150 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2868WPDMNT132HI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Royale Comfort Seating Llc, Taylorsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Trichloroethylene. Reports carcinogens. 67,996 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2868WRYLCM14ALS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
American Roller Bearing Inc, Hiddenite
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Copper, Chromium, Nickel and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 11,074 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28636MRCNRINTER (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Schneider Mills Wwtp, Taylorsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,487.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064598341 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Royale Comfort Seating, Llc, Taylorsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071433305 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Piedmont Composites And Tooling, Llc, Taylorsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038043417 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Triumph Insulation System, Taylorsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene. 4,774 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2868WTRMPH138WI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
American Roller Bearing & Manufacturing Inc, Hiddenite
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007663876 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Triumph Insulation System, Taylorsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041163932 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Brushy Mountain Enterprises, Taylorsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009716110 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Brushy Mountain Enterprises, Taylorsville
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110009716110 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Shurtape Technologies Incorporated, Stony Point
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007375704 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Piedmont Composites And Tooling, Llc, Taylorsville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038043417 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Wittenburg School, Taylorsville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018543897 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Shurtape Technologies Incorporated, Stony Point
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007375704 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Piedmont Composites And Tooling, Llc, Taylorsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038043417 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Triumph Insulation System, Taylorsville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041163932 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Napa Store Cha381, Taylorsville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072240525 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Royale Comfort Seating, Inc. - Plant No. 1, Taylorsville
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $6,348.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001504747 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Taylorsville Wwtp, Taylorsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009719563 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Hancock & Moore Plant 2, Taylorsville
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $4,379.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041192964 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Hancock & Moore Plant 2, Taylorsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,379.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041192964 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Piedmont Wood Products, Inc., Taylorsville
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $2,256.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001475207 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Walmart Supercenter #1131, Taylorsville
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032957245 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Hancock & Moore Plant 2, Taylorsville
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $4,379.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041192964 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 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 Alexander County

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