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Madison County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Madison County is 153.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 106 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (41), Rail grade crossing (19), Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility) (18). 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: 35.8715, -82.6655.

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 Madison 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	37	23.8	1.55xSignificant	27.3 to 49.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	74.3	51.8	1.43xSignificant	61.7 to 89.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	39.7	30.2	1.31xSignificant	30.6 to 51	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.9	17.9	1.17x	13.9 to 30.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16	14.5	1.1x	10.1 to 24.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	490	453.4	1.08xSignificant	454.6 to 527.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	153.7	143.2	1.07x	135 to 174.5	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19	18.5	1.03x	12.4 to 28.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.9	13.9	0.93x	7.9 to 20.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.5	18.7	0.88x	10.9 to 24.5	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 Madison County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,508.7	9,842.6	+17%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.7	75.3	-1%	years
Child mortality	62.3	59.8	+4%	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	114.3	96.9	+18%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	38.5	28.6	+34%	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.

Formaldehyde16.43 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.74 per million
Acetaldehyde1.49 per million
Benzene0.7 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit41
Rail grade crossing19
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)18
Gas station (mapped facility)14
Air permit holder (minor source)4
Small hazardous waste generator2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Public airport1
Brownfield property1
Hydroelectric plant1
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.

Hot Springs Housing Authority Wwtp, Hot Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,982.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009844133 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Marshall Wwtp, Marshall
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $496.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009845828 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Hot Springs Wwtp, Hot Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $10,289.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009845392 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Dynamic Systems Inc, Leicester
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates. 31 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28748DYNMC14MRR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.2
Carolina Ready Mix & Building Supply, Llc - Marshall, Marshall
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070556434 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Wolf Laurel Wwtp, Mars Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $473.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009842714 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Carolina Ready Mix & Building Supply Llc - Marshall, Marshall
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds.
TRI facility ID 2875WCRLNR389US (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Drover'S Rest, Marshall
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040477640 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Town Of Mars Hill, Mars Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $661.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009843893 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Silver Fox Trout Farm, Llc, Hot Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071206317 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Madison County Middle School, Marshall
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009720392 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Hatley Pointe Wwtp, Mars Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009842563 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
11 Woolyshot Branch Road, Hot Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006671770 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Deringer -Ney Inc, Marshall
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000836294 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Peerless Blowers - Madison Manufacturing Co, Hot Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001492545 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Printpack Inc. - Marshall, Marshall
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001504685 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Printpack Inc. - Marshall, Marshall
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001504685 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mars Hill Wtp, Mars Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006707563 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cp&L - A Progress Energy Company, Marshall
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009849511 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mccrary Stone Service, Inc.-Mccrary Madison Mine, Marshall
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028297812 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Carolina Ready Mix-Marshall, Marshall
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041944411 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Scenic Wolf Mountain Wwtp, Mars Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043162305 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Madison Co. Solid Waste Facility, Marshall
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043672521 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pine Hall Brick Co.-Plant 5, Madison
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045405110 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Allen'S Wrecker Service And Used Parts, Marshall
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045405389 (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 Madison 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 Madison 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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