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Cherokee County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Cherokee County is 148.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 430 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (224), Rail grade crossing (100), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (55). 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: 35.1398, -84.0772.

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 Cherokee County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	5.5	3.4	1.62x	2.9 to 10.1	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	8.7	5.7	1.53x	5.2 to 14.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	18.9	14.5	1.3x	13.7 to 26	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	67.2	51.8	1.3xSignificant	58.1 to 77.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	37.7	30.2	1.25xSignificant	31 to 46	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	13.5	11.3	1.19x	8.8 to 20.3	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21	17.9	1.17x	14.7 to 29.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.1	13.9	1.09x	10.5 to 21.7	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.1	8.7	1.05x	5.5 to 14.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	148.3	143.2	1.04x	133.4 to 164.8	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.6	23.8	1.03x	18.2 to 32.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.2	18.7	1.03x	14.5 to 25.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	464.5	453.4	1.02x	436.1 to 494.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.1	18.5	0.98x	12.6 to 25.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.7	6.6	0.86x	2.8 to 10.6	2020-2024

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 Cherokee County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,641.3	9,842.6	+28%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.2	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	97.5	59.8	+63%	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	129.2	96.9	+33%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	49	28.6	+71%	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.

Formaldehyde17.36 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.78 per million
Acetaldehyde1.69 per million
Benzene0.63 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge224
Rail grade crossing100
NPDES wastewater discharge permit55
Gas station (mapped facility)17
Air permit holder (minor source)9
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
Small hazardous waste generator3
Solar power plant3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Heliport2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Commercial airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Hydroelectric plant1
Pumped storage 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.

Murphy Wwtp, Murphy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009719386 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Andrews Wwtp, Andrews
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $41,840.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006623412 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Team Industries Andrews Inc., Andrews
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Propylene. 812 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28901TBRDM1000H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Bombardier Motor Corporation Of America, Andrews
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000351789 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Snap-On Power Tools Inc., Murphy
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 28906SXTLS250SN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Andrews Wtp, Andrews
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006708205 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Southern Concrete Materials-Andrews Plant, Andrews
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069249129 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.1
Snap-On Power Tools Inc., Murphy
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015324282 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Southern Concrete Materials-Andrews Plant, Andrews
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds. 3 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2890WSTHRN268WH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.5
Moog, Inc., Murphy
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045405003 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Moog, Inc., Murphy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045405003 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Hiwassee Dam School, Murphy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009844874 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Bear Paw Wwtp, Murphy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009845631 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Western Carolina Rgnl, Andrews
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID RHP (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1270446090 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1270446091 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Cherokee County
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1463455041 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Bombardier Motor Corporation Of America, Andrews
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000351789 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bombardier Motor Corporation Of America, Andrews
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000351789 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Western Materials Inc - Asphalt, Murphy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001979191 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Harrison Construction Divison Of Apac-Te, Murphy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006178153 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Coats American Marble, Marble
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006550366 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Valwood Corporation, Marble
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006721814 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mgm Brakes, Murphy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007664367 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hiwassee Hydro Plant, Murphy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018788150 (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 Cherokee 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 Cherokee 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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