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Chowan County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Chowan County is 160.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 70 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (29), Rail grade crossing (7), Air permit holder (minor source) (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: 36.1817, -76.6508.

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 Chowan County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	27	17.9	1.51x	16.9 to 41.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	12.3	8.7	1.41x	7.1 to 21.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	18.8	13.9	1.35x	11.1 to 30.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	14.2	11.3	1.26x	7.9 to 24.4	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	160.5	143.2	1.12x	137.3 to 187.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	483.1	453.4	1.07x	439.7 to 530.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	31.8	30.2	1.05x	22.9 to 44.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	53.5	51.8	1.03x	41.1 to 69.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.4	23.8	1.03x	15.8 to 37	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.4	18.5	0.94x	10.6 to 28.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	14.9	18.7	0.8x	9.1 to 24.5	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 Chowan County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,587.9	9,842.6	+8%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.4	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	102.2	96.9	+5%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	33.8	28.6	+18%	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.

Formaldehyde16.49 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.49 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

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit29
Rail grade crossing7
Air permit holder (minor source)6
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)6
Gas station (mapped facility)4
Major air pollution source3
Solar power plant3
Small hazardous waste generator2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Oil-fired power plant1
Scrapyard (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.

Regulator Marine Inc., Edenton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 569,306 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27932RGLTR187PE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.9
Edenton Boatworks Llc, Edenton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 65,304 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27932LBMRL14MID (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Albemarle Sportfishing Boats, Edenton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004025108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Regulator Marine Inc-Edenton, Edenton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000347937 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Freemason Wtp, Edenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,352.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009845971 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Beaver Hill Wtp, Edenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,443.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009720622 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Albemarle Sportfishing Boats, Edenton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004025108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Edenton Generators, Edenton
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 7429 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Regulator Marine Inc-Edenton, Edenton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000347937 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Albemarle Sportfishing Boats, Edenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004025108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Carolina Classic Boats Incorporated, Edenton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000347919 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Regulator Marine Inc-Edenton, Edenton
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000347937 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Regulator Marine Inc-Edenton, Edenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000347937 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Carolina Classic Boats Incorporated, Edenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000347919 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Valhalla Wtp, Edenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006710185 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Albemarle Sportfishing Boats, Edenton
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004025108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
United Parcel Service - Edenton (Ncede), Edenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,300,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006719925 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Northeastern Rgnl, Edenton
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID EDE (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/41545092 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/41545156 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/41650688 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/41653092 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/41653559 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/41653912 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Commercial Ready Mix Products, Edenton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001485081 (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 Chowan 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 Chowan 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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