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Richmond County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Richmond County is 208.2 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 2 times the U.S. rate and Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 220 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (57), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (55), Air permit holder (minor source) (27). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 34.9941, -79.7279.

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 Richmond County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	59.3	30.2	1.96xSignificant	50.7 to 69	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	86	51.8	1.66xSignificant	75.7 to 97.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	10.6	6.6	1.61xSignificant	7.2 to 15.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	8.3	5.7	1.46x	5.2 to 12.7	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	208.2	143.2	1.45xSignificant	191.4 to 226.3	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	15.2	11.3	1.35x	10.9 to 20.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.3	17.9	1.3x	17.7 to 30.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	566.3	453.4	1.25xSignificant	538.1 to 595.8	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	8	6.6	1.21x	4.8 to 12.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	17.4	14.5	1.2x	12.6 to 23.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	22	18.7	1.18x	16.7 to 28.4	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.2	6.2	1.16x	4.1 to 11.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.4	8.7	1.08x	6.2 to 13.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.7	13.9	1.06x	10.5 to 20.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.4	18.5	0.99x	13.5 to 24.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	18.8	23.8	0.79x	14.1 to 24.8	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	10	13	0.77x	6.3 to 15.2	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 Richmond County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	17,666	9,842.6	+79%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	68.7	75.3	-9%	years
Child mortality	136.6	59.8	+129%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	11.6	6.2	+86%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	128	96.9	+32%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	77	28.6	+169%	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.

Formaldehyde21.62 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde2.19 per million
Benzene0.88 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing57
NPDES wastewater discharge permit55
Air permit holder (minor source)27
Gas station (mapped facility)22
Brownfield property9
Solar power plant7
TRI reporting facility7
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
Major air pollution source6
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Small hazardous waste generator4
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Commercial airport2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Gas power plant2
Public airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Heliport1
Superfund (NPL) site1
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.

Charles Macon Lagoon & Drum Storage, Cordova
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 47.1. NPL Site.
EPA site ID NCD980840409 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Latham Pool Products Inc D/B/A Viking Pools-Nc, Rockingham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate. Reports carcinogens. 1,274,421 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28379CRYST162EN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.2
Duke Energy Progress Llc - Smith Energy Complex, Hamlet
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Formaldehyde, Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Mercury And Mercury Compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 887,874 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28345PRGRSNCSR1 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.1
Sem Products, Inc. - Rockingham Plant, Rockingham
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001503338 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.7
Trinity Manufacturing Inc, Hamlet
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitromethane, Chlorine, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Chloropicrin. Reports carcinogens. 6,119 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28345TRNTY11EVH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Richmond Plant, Cordova
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,183.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001480861 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Perdue Foods Llc - Rockingham Processing Plant, Rockingham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Peracetic acid, Certain glycol ethers. 33,849 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28379PRDNC416SO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Latham Pools, Rockingham, Nc, Rockingham
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033627341 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Cai Inc., Rockingham
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens. 274 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28379SMPRD106EN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Richmond County Combustion Turbine Plant, Hamlet
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004060417 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Sem Products, Inc. - Rockingham Plant, Rockingham
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001503338 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Richmond County Transfer Facility (Aci), Rockingham
Major air pollution source. Penalties $4,549.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071272930 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Hamlet Wwtp, Hamlet
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $15,545.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006367458 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Rockingham City Waster Water Treatment Plant, Rockingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,155.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006644337 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Perdue Farms Inc - Rockingham, Rockingham
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000350156 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Trinity Manufacturing, Inc., Hamlet
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000349935 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Sherwood H Smith Jr Energy Complex, Hamlet
Gas power plant.
Record ID 7805 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4.9
Richmond Plant, Cordova
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $1,183.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001480861 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Marcal Cordova Llc, Cordova
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001487819 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Sem Products, Inc. - Rockingham Plant, Rockingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001503338 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Richmond County Airport, Rockingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044960398 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
American Woodmark - Hamlet, Nc, Hamlet
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069996523 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Sem Products, Inc. - Rockingham Plant, Rockingham
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001503338 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Metromont Materials Corporation - Hamlet Plant, Hamlet
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022549768 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Sealed Air Corp - Cryovac Div, Rockingham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054207201 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Richmond Youth Development Center, Rockingham
EPA FRS registry ID
110071928087
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Richmond 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 Richmond 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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