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Catawba County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Catawba County is 155.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Melanoma of the skin deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 726 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (286), Air permit holder (minor source) (139), Rail grade crossing (115). 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: 35.6895, -81.2045.

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 Catawba 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	43.6	23.8	1.83xSignificant	39.5 to 48	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	3.1	2	1.55xSignificant	2.1 to 4.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	33.5	30.2	1.11x	30.2 to 37.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	56.9	51.8	1.1xSignificant	52.6 to 61.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	155.3	143.2	1.08xSignificant	147.8 to 163	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.2	4.8	1.08x	3.9 to 6.9	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.6	17.9	1.04x	15.9 to 21.5	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2.8	2.7	1.04x	1.9 to 4.1	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	19.2	18.7	1.03x	16.7 to 22.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	455.9	453.4	1.01x	442.9 to 469.3	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.1	4.1	1x	3 to 5.6	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	3.7	3.7	1x	2.6 to 5	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	5.7	5.7	1x	4.3 to 7.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	13.6	13.9	0.98x	11.5 to 16.1	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6.4	6.6	0.97x	5 to 8.2	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.2	4.4	0.95x	3 to 5.7	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.7	6.2	0.92x	4.2 to 7.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.3	11.3	0.91x	8.4 to 12.4	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.9	6.6	0.89x	4.6 to 7.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	2.9	3.4	0.85x	2 to 4.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.2	8.7	0.83x	5.7 to 9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15	18.5	0.81x	12.7 to 17.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	3.4	4.6	0.74x	2.4 to 4.7	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	10.3	14.5	0.71x	8.3 to 12.6	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	9	13	0.69x	7 to 11.3	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 Catawba County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,083.7	9,842.6	+13%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.9	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	55.3	59.8	-7%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.5	6.2	+4%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	92.3	96.9	-5%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	38.5	28.6	+35%	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.

Formaldehyde22.6 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.88 per million
Acetaldehyde2.28 per million
Benzene1.29 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 347 days: 239 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 42, peak 88.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit286
Air permit holder (minor source)139
Rail grade crossing115
Small hazardous waste generator41
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)32
Brownfield property29
TRI reporting facility27
Major air pollution source16
Large hazardous waste generator14
Solar power plant13
Public airport5
Heliport2
Biomass power plant2
EPA air quality monitor1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Coal power plant1
Hydroelectric plant1
Oil-fired power plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Duke Energy Carolinas, Llc - Marshall Steam Station, Terrell
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $4,507.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000351397 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Duke Energy Carolinas Llc - Marshall Steam Station, Terrell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Barium And Barium Compounds, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Vanadium compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 6,143,768 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28682DKNRG8320E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.7
Terra-Mulch Products, Llc, Conover
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $6,316.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001493982 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.9
Century Furniture Casegoods Plant No 1, Hickory
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Butyl alcohol, Toluene, Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds. Reports carcinogens. 134,448 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28603CNTRY42012 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Hk Research Corp, Hickory
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate, Cobalt compounds, Certain glycol ethers. Reports carcinogens. 46,642 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28603HKRSR908LE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Century Furniture Industries Plant, Hickory
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $7,020.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009717869 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Marshall (Nc), Terrell
Coal power plant.
Record ID 2727 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 8
Shurtape Technologies Llc - Hickory Tape Plant, Hickory
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, n-Hexane, Xylene (mixed isomers), Zinc compounds. 1,477,892 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28601SHFRDLIGHL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Structural Steel Of Carolina, Hickory
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Manganese, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 12,701 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28601STRCT1115L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Duke Energy Carolinas, Llc - Marshall Steam Station, Terrell
Major air pollution source. Penalties $4,507.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000351397 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Cleveland-Cliffs Piedmont, Conover
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Aluminum (fume or dust), Nickel, Antimony and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,540 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2865WCLVLN227MB (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Prysmian Cables & Systems Usa Llc, Claremont
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chlorine, Certain glycol ethers, Hydrogen fluoride. 193,276 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28610FBRPT2512B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Elite Comfort Solutions - Conover, Conover
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene diisocyanate (mixed isomers), Diisocyanates, Diethanolamine. Reports carcinogens. 2,019 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28613HCKRYHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Duke Energy Carolinas, Llc - Marshall Steam Station, Terrell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,507.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000351397 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Delta Apparel Maiden Plant, Maiden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $192,993.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002348503 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Northeast Wwtp, Conover
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $15,174.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006673466 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
City Of Newton Wwtp, Newton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,494.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001493973 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Terra-Mulch Products, Llc, Conover
Major air pollution source. Penalties $6,316.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001493982 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Shurtape Technologies - Hickory/Highland Plant, Hickory
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000350539 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Carpenter Co., Conover
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene diisocyanate (mixed isomers), Diisocyanates, Diethanolamine. Reports carcinogens. 326 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28613RCRPNBOX87 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Carolina Solvents Inc, Hickory
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers). 25,336 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28603CRLNS22741 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Prysmian Cables & Systems Usa Llc, Claremont
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067042113 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Terra-Mulch Products Llc, Conover
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers. 11,147 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28613TRRML219SI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Abb Installation Products Inc., Hickory
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 104 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28602HTCHF41519 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Terra-Mulch Products, Llc, Conover
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,316.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001493982 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6

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 Catawba 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 Catawba 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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