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Ashe County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Ashe County is 153.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 86 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (46), Air permit holder (minor source) (18), Gas station (mapped facility) (6). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 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: 36.4142, -81.4997.

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 Ashe County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	47.1	23.8	1.98xSignificant	37.1 to 59.2	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	6.6	4.1	1.61x	3.9 to 11.4	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	7.6	4.8	1.58x	4.5 to 12.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.7	5.7	1.18x	4 to 11.5	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	16.8	14.5	1.16x	11.2 to 24.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	33.6	30.2	1.11x	27 to 41.9	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	153.5	143.2	1.07x	138 to 170.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	54.2	51.8	1.05x	45.5 to 64.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	453.3	453.4	1x	423.9 to 484.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11	11.3	0.97x	7.5 to 16.5	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.3	6.6	0.95x	3.5 to 11.2	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.2	18.5	0.93x	12.2 to 24	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11.6	13	0.89x	6.5 to 19.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.4	13.9	0.89x	8.5 to 18.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.3	18.7	0.87x	11.8 to 22.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7	8.7	0.8x	4 to 12.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	13.3	17.9	0.74x	8.7 to 19.9	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 Ashe County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,771.2	9,842.6	-1%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.7	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	98.3	96.9	+1%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	17.3	28.6	-40%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde13.94 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.7 per million
Acetaldehyde1.18 per million
Benzene0.62 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit46
Air permit holder (minor source)18
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Small hazardous waste generator2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

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

Ore Knob Mine, Ashe County
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NCN000409895 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
United Chemi - Con Incorporated, Lansing
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009858207 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Halcore Group Inc. Dba American Emergency Vehicles, Jefferson
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene. 13,471 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28617GTSRB101GA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
United Chemi-Con Inc, Lansing
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol. 7,525 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28643SPRGL1SPRA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
The Gates Corporation, Jefferson
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000350815 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Buffalo Meadows Wwtp, West Jefferson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,060.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009719741 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Lansing Wwtp, Lansing
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,861.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064289194 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Ge Aerospace West Jefferson, West Jefferson
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Cobalt, Chromium. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 28694GVTNW4THEP (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Jefferson Wwtp, Jefferson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006710880 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Jefferson Wtp, Jefferson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018767146 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Ge Aerospace, West Jefferson
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037071762 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
United Chemi - Con Incorporated, Lansing
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009858207 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
United Chemi - Con Incorporated, Lansing
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110009858207 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
American Emergency Vehicles, Jefferson
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067553463 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Cobble Creek Lumber Inc, West Jefferson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000498541 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Fleetwood Falls, Fleetwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071158510 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Cobble Creek Lumber Inc, West Jefferson
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110000498541 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
West Jefferson Wwtp, W Jefferson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009845882 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Whispering Streams Wwtp, Fleetwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043162298 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Ashe County, Jefferson
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID GEV (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Mountaineer Cleaners
Dry cleaner (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/651352317 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
The Gates Corporation, Jefferson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000350815 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc., West Jefferson
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000351422 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
James R Vannoy & Sons Construction, Jefferson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001475289 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cardinal Quarries, Llc - Smethport Quar, W Jefferson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001475305 (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 Ashe 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 Ashe 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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