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Dare County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Dare County is 158.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 126 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (60), Gas station (mapped facility) (30), Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility) (9). 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: 35.7737, -75.8627.

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 Dare 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	47.1	23.8	1.98xSignificant	38.5 to 57.1	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	6.7	4.1	1.63x	3.9 to 11	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	7.4	4.6	1.61xSignificant	4.7 to 11.5	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	5.5	3.7	1.49x	3.2 to 9.4	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	23.3	18.7	1.25x	18 to 30	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	36.5	30.2	1.21x	29.8 to 44.5	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	158.8	143.2	1.11xSignificant	144.1 to 174.8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.7	17.9	1.04x	13.7 to 25.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	53.7	51.8	1.04x	45.9 to 62.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.4	11.3	1.01x	7.7 to 16.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	450.1	453.4	0.99x	424.4 to 477	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12	13.9	0.86x	8 to 17.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	11.8	14.5	0.81x	8.1 to 17	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	4.9	6.6	0.74x	2.8 to 8.5	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	12.9	18.5	0.7x	9.1 to 18.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	5.7	8.7	0.66x	3.4 to 9.5	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 Dare County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,306.9	9,842.6	-16%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.2	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	36.2	59.8	-39%	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	110.3	96.9	+14%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	46.8	28.6	+64%	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.

Formaldehyde13.22 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde0.83 per million
Benzene0.77 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit60
Gas station (mapped facility)30
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)9
Air permit holder (minor source)8
Small hazardous waste generator5
Major air pollution source3
Commercial airport3
Heliport2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Crematorium (mapped facility)1
Oil-fired power plant1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
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.

U.S. Dod, Usaf, Dare County Bomb Range, Stumpy Point
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 9,601 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27978SRFRCA1AFS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Manteo Wwtp, Manteo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006707741 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Dot-Nc State Shipyard, Manns Harbor
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $932.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027382801 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Dot-Nc State Shipyard, Manns Harbor
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $932.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027382801 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Carolina Asphalt Limited Liability Company, Kitty Hawk
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018739506 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Dare Co-Stumpy Point Water System, Stumpy Point
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027381214 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Buxton, Buxton
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 2783 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Etheridge Seafood Company, Wanchese
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006674134 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Carolina Asphalt Limited Liability Company, Kitty Hawk
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110018739506 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Wanchese Harbor Project, Wanchese
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,734.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043175319 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Hom Development, Llc (Aci), East Lake
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071273494 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Virginia Electric & Power Company, Kitty Hawk
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007375973 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ncemc - Buxton, Buxton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009855353 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Jennette'S Pier Wwtp, Nags Head
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043528251 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Rodanthe/Waves/Salvo Reverse Osmosis Wtp, Rodanthe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006674704 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Cape Hatteras Reverse Osmosis Wtp, Frisco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009842144 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Skyco Regional Wtp, Manteo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009844892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Ncemc - Buxton, Buxton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009855353 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Stumpy Point Wwtp, Stumpy Point
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043162369 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Kill Devil Hills Reverse Osmosis Wtp, Kill Devil Hills
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000545027 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
First Flight, Kill Devil Hills
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID FFA (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Billy Mitchell, Hatteras
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID HSE (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Dare County Rgnl, Manteo
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID MQI (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1016911797 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1017030754 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2

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 Dare 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 Dare 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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