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Cleveland County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Cleveland County is 179.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 377 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (149), Rail grade crossing (44), Air permit holder (minor source) (43). 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: 35.3771, -81.5607.

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 Cleveland County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	73.2	51.8	1.41xSignificant	67 to 80	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.8	2	1.4x	1.6 to 4.6	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	5.5	4.1	1.34x	3.9 to 7.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	40.5	30.2	1.34xSignificant	35.9 to 45.5	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	3.5	2.7	1.3x	2.1 to 5.3	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	30.4	23.8	1.28xSignificant	26.1 to 35.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	179.8	143.2	1.26xSignificant	169.6 to 190.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.2	3.4	1.24x	2.8 to 6.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.3	4.4	1.2x	3.6 to 7.6	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.9	6.6	1.2x	5.9 to 10.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	10	8.7	1.15x	7.8 to 12.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	511.1	453.4	1.13xSignificant	493.4 to 529.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20	17.9	1.12x	16.6 to 24	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5	4.6	1.09x	3.5 to 7.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.3	13.9	1.03x	11.5 to 17.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.8	14.5	1.02x	11.9 to 18.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.7	18.7	1x	15.5 to 22.4	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.2	6.2	1x	4.2 to 8.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.2	11.3	0.99x	8.7 to 14.1	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.5	4.8	0.94x	3 to 6.5	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.2	18.5	0.93x	14.1 to 20.8	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6.1	6.6	0.92x	4.4 to 8.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	4.6	5.7	0.81x	3.1 to 6.7	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	10.4	13	0.8x	7.7 to 13.7	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	2.1	3.7	0.57x	1.2 to 3.6	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 Cleveland County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,476.5	9,842.6	+27%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	63	59.8	+5%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8	6.2	+28%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	102.7	96.9	+6%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	27.3	28.6	-4%	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.

Formaldehyde23.67 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde2.4 per million
Benzene1.16 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit149
Rail grade crossing44
Air permit holder (minor source)43
Gas station (mapped facility)23
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)22
Solar power plant21
TRI reporting facility20
Small hazardous waste generator9
Major air pollution source8
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Large hazardous waste generator6
Brownfield property5
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Gas power plant2
Oil-fired power plant2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Coal power plant1
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.

Celanese Corp. (Shelby Fiber Operations), Shelby
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 49. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NCD003446721 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Cna Holdings- Celanese Ticona Shelby Plant, Grover
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $15,757.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000586642 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.8
Curtiss-Wright, Shelby
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: 1-Bromopropane, Nickel, Lead compounds, Chromium and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 72,620 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28150CRTSS201OL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Electric Glass Fiber America Llc, Shelby
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Lead, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region). Reports carcinogens. 64,679 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28150PPGNDRT4XX (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Shelby, Nc, Shelby
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000349070 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.9
Metalsamerica Inc, Shelby
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000349034 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.6
James E. Rogers Energy Complex, Cliffside
Coal power plant.
Record ID 2721 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 7.4
Pilot Creek Wwtp, Kings Mountain
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $25,040.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000544028 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Ames Copper Group Llc, Shelby
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper And Copper Compounds, Copper compounds, Zinc compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,407 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2815WMSCPP125LD (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Volvo - Kings Mountain Operations, Grover
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Zinc compounds, Manganese compounds, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) and 2 more. 75,444 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28086MYFLW629SO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Cna Holdings Llc-Shelby, Grover
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol, Phenol, Hydroquinone. 54,538 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28150HCHSTHWY19 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Metalsamerica, Shelby
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Zinc compounds, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 521 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28150CHSBR135OL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Abb Motors & Mechanical Inc, Kings Mountain
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 410 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28086RLNCL101RE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Albemarle, Kings Mountain
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Lithium carbonate. 17,022 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28086CYPRSJCT18 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Curtiss-Wright Controls Inc, Shelby
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000349052 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Metalsamerica Inc, Shelby
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000349034 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Svo, Llc Dba Kings Mountain Operations, Grover
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000348419 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Greenheck Fan Corp - Shelby Campus, Shelby
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Copper, Chromium, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 28 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2815WGRNHC2PARP (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Kings Mountain International Inc., Kings Mountain
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Nickel And Nickel Compounds and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 25 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28086KNGSM1755S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Albemarle Kings Mountain - South, Kings Mountain
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000348393 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Metalsamerica Inc, Shelby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000349034 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Shelby, Nc, Shelby
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000349070 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Patterson Mill, Patterson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,069.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064590492 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Greenheck Fan Corp - Kings Mountain, Kings Mountain
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel, Copper, Chromium and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 15 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2808WGRNHC212CM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.4
Ames Copper Group, Shelby
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071394001 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4

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 Cleveland 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 Cleveland 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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