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Clay County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Clay County is 125.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 27 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (17), Air permit holder (minor source) (2), Gas station (mapped facility) (2). 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: 35.0729, -83.7501.

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 Clay County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Stomach	New cases	14.1	6.6	2.14xSignificant	7 to 27	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	27.6	18.7	1.48x	18.4 to 41.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	65.1	51.8	1.26x	50.7 to 83.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.2	17.9	1.24x	12.6 to 37.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.2	18.5	1.15x	12.7 to 34.9	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	462	453.4	1.02x	418.4 to 510	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.3	30.2	0.94x	19.9 to 41.2	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	125.5	143.2	0.88x	105.5 to 149.7	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	12.1	13.9	0.87x	7.1 to 22.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	15.9	23.8	0.67x	9.7 to 27.2	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 Clay County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,395.7	9,842.6	+6%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.8	75.3	+2%	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	110.9	96.9	+14%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	32	28.6	+12%	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.

Formaldehyde16.88 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.76 per million
Acetaldehyde1.56 per million
Benzene0.59 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit17
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Gas station (mapped facility)2
Hydroelectric plant2
Public airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

6884 Tusquittee Road, Hayesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006672172 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Southern Concrete Materials-Hayesville Plant, Hayesville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds.
TRI facility ID 2890WSTHRN2686N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.1
Clay County Wwtp, Hayesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,471.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006710666 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Mountainside Dry Cleaners, Hayesville
Dry cleaner (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID node/13314958506 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Apac-Tennessee Hayesville Asphalt Plant, Hayesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008055772 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Clay County Schools Site, Hayesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015631556 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Southern Concrete Mat-Hayesvil, Hayesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018833495 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tusquittee Trout Ranch, Hayesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022564848 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mill Creek Drive - Lots 6 And 8, Hayesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030451810 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
3651 Fires Creek Rd, Hayesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035771242 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mission Hydroelectric Project, Hayesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063921822 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Advanced Digital Cable Inc., Hayesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070826206 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Chatuge Hydro Plant, Hayesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071711350 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Tony Garrett Site Development, Hayesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071913126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Riverwalk Of Hayesville, Hayesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071923115 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
51 Compass Creek Drive, Hayesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072003660 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Amazon.Com Services Llc - Dgs2, Hayesville
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072100957 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Amazon.Com Services Llc - Dgs2, Hayesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072100957 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Maher Project, Brasstown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072246796 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Clay County Ems, Hayesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072256130 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Apac-Tennessee Hayesville Asphalt Plant, Hayesville
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110008055772 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Southern Concrete Mat-Hayesvil, Hayesville
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110018833495 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Fuel Station
Gas station (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID node/12292444440 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Ingles Gas Express
Gas station (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/652982305 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 1
Chatuge, Hayesville
Hydroelectric plant.
Record ID 2778 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 0.5

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 Clay 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 Clay 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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