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Martin County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Martin County is 193.3 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 176 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (84), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (30), Solar power plant (15). 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: 35.8651, -77.1956.

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 Martin County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	47.9	30.2	1.59xSignificant	38.2 to 59.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	73.1	51.8	1.41xSignificant	61.3 to 87.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	9.2	6.6	1.39x	5.1 to 15.7	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	193.3	143.2	1.35xSignificant	173 to 215.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	533	453.4	1.18xSignificant	496.8 to 571.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21	17.9	1.17x	14.4 to 30.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	16.3	13.9	1.17x	10.7 to 24.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	21.3	18.7	1.14x	15.1 to 29.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.5	8.7	1.09x	5.6 to 15.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.7	11.3	1.04x	7.4 to 18.5	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16	18.5	0.86x	10.1 to 24.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	18	23.8	0.76x	11.3 to 27.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	10.8	14.5	0.74x	6 to 18.2	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 Martin County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,542.8	9,842.6	+48%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.1	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	113.2	59.8	+89%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	12.3	6.2	+98%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	113.1	96.9	+17%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	39.7	28.6	+39%	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.

Formaldehyde17.5 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.72 per million
Benzene0.77 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 289 days: 289 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 31, peak 50.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing84
NPDES wastewater discharge permit30
Solar power plant15
Brownfield property14
Gas station (mapped facility)9
Air permit holder (minor source)7
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Major air pollution source2
TRI reporting facility2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Biomass power plant1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)1
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.

Domtar Paper Co Llc Plymouth Mill, Plymouth
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013794000 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Robersonville Wwtp, Robersonville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $35,579.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006367341 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Weyerhaeuser Nr Company, Plymouth
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055643736 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Hamilton Wwtp, Hamilton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,042.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006709428 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Bear Grass Elementary School W, Williamston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $14,592.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006710005 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Williamston Wwtp, Williamston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022571046 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Penco Products Inc, Hamilton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Manganese. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 27840PNCPR131PE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Domtar Paper Co Llc Plymouth Mill, Plymouth
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013794000 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Weyerhaeuser Nr Company, Plymouth
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055643736 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Former Windsor Oil Company, Williamston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046369853 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Tar Heel Recycling Facility, Williamston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046369862 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
3.6 Acre Undeveloped Tract, Williamston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046369880 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Royster Clark Site, Williamston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071963681 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Heckstall Property, Williamston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071964000 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Home Laundry Property, Williamston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071964335 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
501 N. Haughton Street, Williamston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071964353 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Farmers Supply Warehouse, Williamston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071964411 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
2.32 Acre Commercial Tract, Williamston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965002 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former C&R Implement Co., Williamston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071965034 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Down East Salvage, Williamston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071969589 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Railroad Street Property, Williamston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071969590 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tarheel Apartment Building, Wiliamston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071969637 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Thomas Schmidt Auto, Williamston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071969894 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Domtar Paper Co Llc Plymouth Mill, Plymouth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013794000 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Domtar Paper Company, Llc, Jamesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064598706 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3

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 Martin 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 Martin 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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