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Johnston County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Johnston County is 164.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Stomach deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,087 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (623), Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility) (108), Rail grade crossing (96). 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: 35.5436, -78.3821.

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 Johnston County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Stomach	Deaths	4.1	2.7	1.52xSignificant	3 to 5.5	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	3	2	1.5x	2 to 4.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	44.3	30.2	1.47xSignificant	40.6 to 48.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	74.6	51.8	1.44xSignificant	69.8 to 79.7	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	23.1	16.4	1.41xSignificant	17.3 to 30.3	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	8.3	6.6	1.26xSignificant	6.7 to 10.1	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	5.1	4.1	1.24x	3.8 to 6.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.2	3.4	1.24x	3.1 to 5.6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.8	4.8	1.21x	4.4 to 7.6	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	28.2	23.8	1.18xSignificant	25.2 to 31.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	22.1	18.7	1.18xSignificant	19.4 to 25.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.9	17.9	1.17xSignificant	18.5 to 23.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	164.8	143.2	1.15xSignificant	157.4 to 172.5	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	518.8	453.4	1.14xSignificant	505.9 to 532.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.8	11.3	1.13x	10.8 to 15.1	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7	6.2	1.13x	5.5 to 8.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.7	8.7	1.11x	8.1 to 11.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	15.1	13.9	1.09x	12.9 to 17.7	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.4	14.5	1.06x	13.2 to 17.9	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	12.4	13	0.95x	10.4 to 14.6	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.1	4.4	0.93x	3 to 5.4	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	5.3	5.7	0.93x	4 to 6.9	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.6	18.5	0.9x	14.3 to 19.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.9	6.6	0.89x	4.6 to 7.4	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	3.1	3.7	0.84x	2.3 to 4.3	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	3.5	4.6	0.76x	2.6 to 4.7	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 Johnston County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,163.2	9,842.6	-17%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.5	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	49.4	59.8	-17%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	5.7	6.2	-8%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	86	96.9	-11%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	27.9	28.6	-2%	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.

Formaldehyde21.32 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde2.18 per million
Benzene1.14 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 283 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 41, peak 84.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,087 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit623
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)108
Rail grade crossing96
Gas station (mapped facility)87
Air permit holder (minor source)49
Solar power plant27
Small hazardous waste generator16
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)15
Brownfield property14
TRI reporting facility13
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)11
Major air pollution source8
Public airport4
Large hazardous waste generator4
Heliport2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Crematorium (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Biomass power plant1
Wastewater plant (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.

Raven Antenna Systems (Dba Global Skyware), Smithfield
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $14,829.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009858323 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.6
Maycraft Boats Llc, Four Oaks
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 46,825 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27524MYCRF96HIL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Zehrco-Giancola Composites Inc., Smithfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 41,302 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27577CHNNLINDUS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Blanchard Terminal Co - Selma Buffalo Nc Terminal, Selma
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, Benzene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 6,084 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2757WBPPRD377BU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Caterpillar Incorporated, Clayton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018692468 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Navtar Company, Clayton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009850189 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Mplx Terminals Llc - Selma W Oak St Terminal, Selma
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, Benzene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 2,693 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27576XXNMB2555W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Natvar, Clayton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. Reports carcinogens. 2,434 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27520NTRXX8720U (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Grifols Therapeutics Llc, Clayton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol, Methanol, Chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22). 59,613 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27520MLSNCHWY70 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Conestoga Kenly Plant & Sprayroom, Kenly
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers). 49,465 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27542CNSTG621JH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Raven Antenna Systems (Dba Global Skyware), Smithfield
Major air pollution source. Penalties $14,829.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009858323 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Grifols Therapeutics Llc, Clayton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071870556 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Conestoga Kenly Plant & Sprayroom, Kenly
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001482681 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Sam'S Branch Wrf, Clayton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009719616 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Raven Antenna Systems (Dba Global Skyware), Smithfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $14,829.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009858323 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
May-Craft Fiberglass Products, Inc., Four Oaks
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000346830 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Benson Wwtp, Benson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $10,915.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064629718 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Novo Nordisk Dapi-Us, Clayton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Formic acid, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size) and 3 more. 3,246 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2752WNVNRD3611P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Exxonmobil Refining And Supply Company, Selma
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001478785 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Pace Mobile Home Park, Clayton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $195,822.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006674394 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Lfc2, Selma
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Nickel, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 5 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27576SMBNR500OA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Industries ,Lp, Clayton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: m-Cresol. 488 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2752WNVNRD3612P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
Charter Triad Terminals Limited Liability Company, Selma
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018842902 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Novo Nordisk - Dapi-Us, Clayton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070943424 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.9
Blackwood Associates, Llc, Newton Grove
Major air pollution source. Penalties $4,377.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055586593 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8

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 Johnston 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 Johnston 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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