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Pender County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Pender County is 178.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Non-Hodgkin lymphoma deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 203 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (146), Gas station (mapped facility) (22), Air permit holder (minor source) (11). 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: 34.5124, -77.9202.

How this county ranks in North Carolina

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Pender County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	7.8	4.8	1.63xSignificant	5.2 to 11.2	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	6.4	4.1	1.56x	4 to 9.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	43.3	30.2	1.43xSignificant	37.3 to 50.1	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	33.5	23.8	1.41xSignificant	27.8 to 40	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	24	17.9	1.34xSignificant	19.3 to 29.6	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	17.3	13	1.33x	12.9 to 22.7	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.7	4.4	1.3x	3.6 to 8.7	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	11.2	8.7	1.29x	8.2 to 15.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	18.4	14.5	1.27x	14.3 to 23.5	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.8	6.2	1.26x	5.2 to 11.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	178.9	143.2	1.25xSignificant	166 to 192.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	63.6	51.8	1.23xSignificant	56.3 to 71.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	544.1	453.4	1.2xSignificant	521.2 to 567.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	22	18.5	1.19x	17.6 to 27.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4	3.4	1.18x	2.3 to 6.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	12.7	11.3	1.12x	9.5 to 16.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.4	5.7	1.12x	4.2 to 9.6	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	20.5	18.7	1.1x	16.3 to 25.5	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7	6.6	1.06x	4.6 to 10.4	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	4.8	4.6	1.04x	2.9 to 7.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.4	13.9	1.04x	11 to 18.6	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	3.5	3.7	0.95x	2 to 5.8	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.4	6.6	0.82x	3.3 to 8.4	2020-2024

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 Pender County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,267.5	9,842.6	-6%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.7	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	61.4	59.8	+3%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	6.4	6.2	+4%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	97	96.9	+0%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	34.7	28.6	+21%	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.

Formaldehyde15.89 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde1.35 per million
Benzene0.72 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit146
Gas station (mapped facility)22
Air permit holder (minor source)11
Solar power plant8
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)5
Public airport2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Commercial airport1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Pender High School Wwtp, Burgaw
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $26,096.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009844400 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
S&W Holly Ridge Plant, Holly Ridge
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 2844WSWHLLHWY5E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
1753 Porter Road, Currie
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006717295 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Beau Rivage Plantation Wwtp, Wilmington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,391.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064322594 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Penderlea Elementary School Wwtp, Burgaw
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,976.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018777796 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Pender County Wtp, Currie
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $789.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040768933 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Wilmington Precast Llc, Willard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072003474 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Wallace-Pender, Wallace
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID ACZ (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1088057428 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1109859821 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1390294037 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Burgaw Wastewater Treatment Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1473272729 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/39157338 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Ptl Plastics - Burgaw, Burgaw
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006717115 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rooks Farm Service - Rocky Point, Rocky Point
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006720156 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ll Building Products, Burgaw
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006722154 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Godwin Concrete Company N Hanover, Wilmington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009852766 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cincinnati Thermal Spray Incorporated, Rocky Point
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018686867 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cincinnati Thermal Spray Incorporated, Rocky Point
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018686867 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Camp Kirkwood, Willard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018716479 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rocky Point Quarry, Rocky Point
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018731103 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
S & W Ready Mix Concrete Co - St Helena, Burgaw
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021329837 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Anchors Away Boatyard - Hampstead, Hampstead
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022552405 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Norris Sand Pit - Currie, Currie
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022560726 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Atlantic Seafood Company - Hampstead, Hampstead
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022564535 (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 Pender 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 Pender 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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