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Durham County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Durham County is 132.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 1,237 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (894), Brownfield property (81), Small hazardous waste generator (73). 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: 36.0504, -78.8689.

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 Durham 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	28.3	23.8	1.19xSignificant	25.9 to 31	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7.6	6.6	1.15x	6.3 to 9	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15	13.9	1.08x	13.2 to 17	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2.9	2.7	1.07x	2.2 to 3.9	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	13.8	13	1.06x	12.1 to 15.7	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.9	17.9	1.06x	16.9 to 21.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.8	11.3	1.04x	10.2 to 13.5	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	462.6	453.4	1.02x	452.4 to 472.9	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.1	6.2	0.98x	5 to 7.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.2	18.5	0.98x	16.2 to 20.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.5	8.7	0.98x	7.2 to 10	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	15.4	16.4	0.94x	11.2 to 20.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	132.6	143.2	0.93x	127.2 to 138.2	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	13.4	14.5	0.92x	11.7 to 15.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	46.9	51.8	0.91x	43.7 to 50.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.1	5.7	0.89x	4.1 to 6.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.8	6.6	0.88x	4.7 to 7.1	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	15.8	18.7	0.84x	13.9 to 17.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4	4.8	0.83x	3.1 to 5.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	25.1	30.2	0.83x	22.8 to 27.5	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	3	3.7	0.81x	2.3 to 3.9	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	3.3	4.1	0.8x	2.5 to 4.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	2.6	3.4	0.76x	1.9 to 3.4	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	3.5	4.6	0.76x	2.7 to 4.5	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	3.2	4.4	0.73x	2.4 to 4.2	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	1.1	2	0.55x	0.7 to 1.7	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 Durham County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,259.3	9,842.6	-26%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.2	75.3	+5%	years
Child mortality	64.6	59.8	+8%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.8	6.2	-6%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	79.1	96.9	-18%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	31.9	28.6	+12%	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.

Formaldehyde22.25 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde2.25 per million
Benzene1.44 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 262 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 42, peak 77.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,237 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit894
Brownfield property81
Small hazardous waste generator73
Rail grade crossing63
Air permit holder (minor source)53
Large hazardous waste generator29
TRI reporting facility13
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)13
Large greenhouse gas emitter5
Solar power plant4
Major air pollution source3
Heliport2
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Biomass power 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.

Scm Metal Products Inc, Research Triangle Park
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper And Copper Compounds, Antimony, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Manganese And Manganese Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 64,996 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27709SCMMT2601W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Wolfspeed Inc., Durham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen fluoride, Ammonia, N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, Methanol and 4 more. Reports PFAS. 46,393 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27703CRRSR4600S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Jds Uniphase, Research Triangle Park
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002357985 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.9
Wolfspeed Inc. (Rtp), Research Triangle Park
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, Hydrogen fluoride, Nitric acid, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution) and 1 more. Reports PFAS. 18,749 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27709GMCRL3026C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Brenntag Mid-South, Durham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, n-Hexane, Ammonia, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 13,594 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27702STHCH2000E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Brenntag Mid-South Inc, Durham
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000347303 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.1
Wolfspeed, Inc. - Durham, Durham
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000347321 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Ips Corporation - Durham Plant, Durham
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004061005 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Ips Structural Adhesives Inc., Durham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methyl methacrylate. 78,328 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27703PSCRP6ELLI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Sunrock Industries Llc - Mdc, Durham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Mercury And Mercury Compounds, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). Reports carcinogens. 789 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2770WCRLNS153CA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Aisin North Carolina Corp, Durham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel, Lead, Chromium and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 566 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27712WNRTH4112L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Scm Metal Products, Inc., Research Triangle Park
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000347401 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
General Electric Aerospace - Durham Engine Facility, Durham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 48 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27709GNRLL3701S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
South Durham Water Reclamation Facility, Chapel Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000915519 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
North Durham Wrf, Durham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064632027 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Nuvotronics, Inc., Durham
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $28,562.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031398271 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Biogen Rtp, Morrisville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetonitrile, Toluene. 1,330 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2756WBGNRT9DAVI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.4
Onterris Laboratories, Llc, Durham
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $11,700.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043769892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Argos Ready Mix Hwy 55 Concrete Plant, Durham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 5 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2771WRGSRD3411A (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
Sunrock Industries Llc - Muirhead Distribution Center, Durham
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001497425 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Biogen Idec Us Lp, Research Triangle Park
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000500958 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Durham Armory, Durham
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 370630015 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4.9
Thomas Concrete - Durham, Durham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 2770WTHMSC2722A (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Brenntag Mid-South Inc, Durham
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000347303 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Unicon Concrete Incorporated Plant Number 6, Durham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001500313 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5

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 Durham 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 Durham 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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