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Jackson County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Jackson County is 124.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 221 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (102), Rail grade crossing (69), Gas station (mapped facility) (22). 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: 35.2637, -83.116.

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 Jackson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Brain & nervous system	New cases	8.8	6.2	1.42x	5.2 to 14	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	33.2	23.8	1.39xSignificant	26.4 to 41.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	17	14.5	1.17x	12.2 to 23.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.7	8.7	1.11x	6.5 to 14.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.1	18.7	1.07x	15.2 to 26.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.8	5.7	1.02x	3.4 to 9.5	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.3	18.5	0.99x	13.4 to 24.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	443.7	453.4	0.98x	418.2 to 470.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	50.3	51.8	0.97x	42.5 to 59.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.2	17.9	0.91x	11.7 to 22.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	124.9	143.2	0.87x	112.3 to 138.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	24.3	30.2	0.8x	19.2 to 30.6	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	8.5	11.3	0.75x	5.6 to 12.8	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	4.9	6.6	0.74x	2.8 to 8.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	9.8	13.9	0.71x	6.6 to 14.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	9.1	13	0.7x	5.5 to 14.2	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 Jackson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,730.5	9,842.6	+9%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.3	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	27.6	59.8	-54%	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	104.7	96.9	+8%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	51.4	28.6	+80%	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.

Formaldehyde15.15 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.69 per million
Acetaldehyde1.36 per million
Benzene0.6 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit102
Rail grade crossing69
Gas station (mapped facility)22
Air permit holder (minor source)6
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Hydroelectric plant5
Major air pollution source2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Heliport2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Airfield1
Public airport1
Brownfield property1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Jackson Paper Manufacturing, Sylva
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). Reports carcinogens. 204 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28779JCKSNPOSTO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Cedar Hill Wwtp, Cashiers
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $804.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009843303 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Jackson County Wwtp, Sylva
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,944.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040042129 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Jackson Paper Manufacturing Company, Sylva
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001478721 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.7
Toxaway Concrete, Cashiers
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007119457 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Wade Hampton Golf Club Wwtp, Cashiers
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009720025 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Brinley Brothers Construction, Sylva
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018522008 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Trillium Links & Village Wwtp, Cashiers
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $19,090.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006708857 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Mathis Landscapes Wnc, Inc. (Aci), Cullowhee
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071442469 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Toxaway Concrete, Cashiers
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110007119457 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Southern Concrete Materials-Sylva Plant, Sylva
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 11 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2877WSTHRN1362W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.8
Jackson Paper Manufacturing Company, Sylva
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001478721 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
T & S Hardwoods, Inc., Sylva
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002079937 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Tuckaseegee Rv Resort, Whittier
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $218.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043162458 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
T & S Hardwoods, Inc., Sylva
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002079937 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
T & S Hardwoods, Inc., Sylva
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110002079937 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Ensley Adult Care Home, Incorporated, Sylva
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $542.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006710194 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Haywood County Rest Area, Sylva
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009845490 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Twsa Plant #3, Cashiers
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006708562 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Jackson Utility Wwtp, Sapphire
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006804306 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Jackson County, Sylva
Public airport. O.
Record ID 24A (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Twsa Wwtp#2, Sylva
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006673457 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
5071 & 5127 Hwy 107n, Glenville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069484882 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Harrison Construction Division Of Apac-, Dillsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006178224 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Singing Waters Camping Resort, Tuckasegee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006673778 (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 Jackson 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 Jackson 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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