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Northampton County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Northampton County is 180.1 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 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 176 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (77), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (28), Gas station (mapped facility) (16). 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: 36.3562, -77.3688.

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 Northampton County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Stomach	New cases	12.3	6.6	1.86x	6.2 to 22.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	43.7	30.2	1.45xSignificant	33.8 to 56.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	72.7	51.8	1.4xSignificant	58.9 to 89.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	180.1	143.2	1.26xSignificant	158.4 to 204.6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.5	18.5	1.11x	12.9 to 31.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	498.8	453.4	1.1xSignificant	459.4 to 541.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.8	11.3	1.04x	7.4 to 19.3	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.7	17.9	0.99x	10.9 to 27.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.3	13.9	0.96x	7.6 to 22.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	17.8	23.8	0.75x	11.9 to 26.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	12.3	18.7	0.66x	7.5 to 20.1	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 Northampton County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,714.1	9,842.6	+49%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	86.6	59.8	+45%	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	119.4	96.9	+23%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	26.4	28.6	-8%	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.

Formaldehyde18.58 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.97 per million
Acetaldehyde1.97 per million
Benzene0.85 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 351 days: 274 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 33, peak 79.

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 crossing77
NPDES wastewater discharge permit28
Gas station (mapped facility)16
Solar power plant15
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)12
Air permit holder (minor source)7
Major air pollution source4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Public airport2
Brownfield property2
Large hazardous waste generator2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Hydroelectric plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Conway Resins Plant, Conway
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $260,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000347544 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.3
Georgia-Pacific Chemicals Llc, Conway
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Formaldehyde, Phenol, Ammonia and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 567,027 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27820GRGPCAMPAC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.9
Resinall Corp, Severn
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Dicyclopentadiene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Toluene, Styrene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 36,454 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27877RSNLLWATER (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Conway Resins Plant, Conway
Major air pollution source. Penalties $260,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000347544 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Enviva Pellets Northampton Llc, Gumberry
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056351451 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Conway Resins Plant, Conway
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $260,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000347544 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Conway Resins Plant, Conway
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $260,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000347544 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Enviva Pellets Northampton Llc, Gumberry
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056351451 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Resinall Corporation, Severn
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006848322 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Rich Square Wwtp, Rich Square
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $94,932.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006710693 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Northampton County, Gaston
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 371310003 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4.4
Pleasant Hill Compressor Station, Pleasant Hill
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012146837 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
International Paper Company, Seaboard
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012707400 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Lowes Regional Distrib Ctr, Nc #1420, Garysburg
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041636888 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Garysburg Community Center, Garysburg
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071969914 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Northampton Co. Ss Department, Jackson
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973039 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
International Paper Company, Seaboard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012707400 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1101838693 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Seaboard Wastewater Treatment Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1414688525 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Sam's Dry Cleaners, Jackson
Dry cleaner (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/320910949 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/41588678 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/804747881 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Carolina Bark Products, Seaboard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022561547 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Pilot Travel Centers Llc #68, Pleasant Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006720600 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Clary Lumber Company, Gaston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006721592 (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 Northampton 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 Northampton 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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