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Hertford County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Hertford County is 168.9 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 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 116 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (31), Rail grade crossing (27), Solar power plant (14). 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: 36.3933, -77.0311.

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 Hertford County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	48.8	30.2	1.62xSignificant	38.7 to 61.3	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	12.2	8.7	1.4x	6.8 to 20.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	15.1	11.3	1.34x	9.3 to 23.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.4	17.9	1.25x	14.8 to 32.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	168.9	143.2	1.18xSignificant	148.3 to 192	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	60.6	51.8	1.17x	49.2 to 74.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.3	13.9	1.03x	8.5 to 22.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	453.6	453.4	1x	418.3 to 491.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13.2	14.5	0.91x	7.8 to 21.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14	18.5	0.76x	8.6 to 22.2	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 Hertford County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,850.6	9,842.6	+41%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.2	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	104.4	59.8	+75%	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	99.5	96.9	+3%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	23	28.6	-20%	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.

Formaldehyde17.68 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.97 per million
Acetaldehyde1.79 per million
Benzene0.82 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit31
Rail grade crossing27
Solar power plant14
Air permit holder (minor source)13
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Major air pollution source3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Large hazardous waste generator2
TRI reporting facility2
Airfield1
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
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.

Perdue Agribusiness Llc - Cofield, Cofield
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $13,751.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070834534 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.7
Enviva Pellets Llc - Ahoskie Facility, Ahoskie
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Methanol, Acetaldehyde, Propionaldehyde and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 91,719 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2791WNVVPL142NC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Nucor Steel Hertford County, Cofield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Manganese compounds, Mercury And Mercury Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 57,489 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27922NCRST1505R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Perdue Agribusiness Llc - Cofield Nc, Cofield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Cyclohexane, Selenium compounds, Copper compounds and 3 more. 1,174,626 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27229PRDNCSTATE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Perdue Agribusiness Llc - Cofield, Cofield
Major air pollution source. Penalties $13,751.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070834534 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Nucor Steel - Cofield Facility, Cofield
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024423131 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Perdue Agribusiness Llc - Cofield, Cofield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $13,751.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070834534 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Ahoskie Wwtp, Ahoskie
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,505.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064601453 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Nucor Steel - Cofield Facility, Cofield
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024423131 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Nucor Steel - Cofield Facility, Cofield
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024423131 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Enviva Ahoskie, Ahoskie
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043221509 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Alfiniti Inc., Winton
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042046684 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Nucor Steel - Cofield Facility, Cofield
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024423131 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Enviva Ahoskie, Ahoskie
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043221509 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Tri-County At Henry Joyner Fld, Ahoskie
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID ASJ (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/41545119 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/41545121 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/41545123 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Alfiniti Inc., Winton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042046684 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
North Carolina & Virginia Railroad, Ahoskie
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004061194 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Berry Global, Inc., Ahoskie
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006721342 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Commerical Ready Mix Products, Ahoskie
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009717315 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nichols Grocery, Ahoskie
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009848843 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cf Industries Ahoskie Site/Cf Nitrogen, Cofield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012197176 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
A.T. Byrum And Son Incorporated, Ahoskie
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018567433 (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 Hertford 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 Hertford 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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