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Robeson County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Robeson County is 199 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 1.8 times the U.S. rate and Liver & bile duct deaths at 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 527 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (194), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (114), Gas station (mapped facility) (46). 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: 34.6269, -79.1437.

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 Robeson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	54.4	30.2	1.8xSignificant	49 to 60.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	83.2	51.8	1.61xSignificant	76.6 to 90.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	10	6.6	1.52xSignificant	7.8 to 12.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.8	3.4	1.41x	3.2 to 6.8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	199	143.2	1.39xSignificant	188.4 to 210.1	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	15.3	11.3	1.35xSignificant	12.4 to 18.6	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	17.9	13.9	1.29xSignificant	14.8 to 21.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.7	17.9	1.21xSignificant	18.3 to 25.7	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7.3	6.6	1.11x	5.3 to 9.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	495.2	453.4	1.09xSignificant	478.4 to 512.6	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2.9	2.7	1.07x	1.7 to 4.5	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	4.2	4.1	1.02x	2.7 to 6.2	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.8	8.7	1.01x	6.7 to 11.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	12.9	13	0.99x	10.1 to 16.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.4	5.7	0.95x	3.8 to 7.5	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	3.1	3.7	0.84x	1.9 to 4.8	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	12	14.5	0.83x	9.4 to 15	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	3.8	4.8	0.79x	2.4 to 5.6	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	14.4	18.7	0.77x	11.6 to 17.7	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	3.3	4.4	0.75x	2.1 to 5.1	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	4.5	6.2	0.73x	3 to 6.5	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	3.1	4.6	0.67x	1.9 to 4.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	12.1	18.5	0.65x	9.6 to 15.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	11.8	23.8	0.5x	9.2 to 15	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 Robeson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	18,937.5	9,842.6	+92%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	67.9	75.3	-10%	years
Child mortality	103.5	59.8	+73%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	9.5	6.2	+54%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	178.9	96.9	+85%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	88.7	28.6	+210%	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.

Formaldehyde20.55 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde2.04 per million
Benzene0.89 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing194
NPDES wastewater discharge permit114
Gas station (mapped facility)46
Solar power plant41
Brownfield property36
Air permit holder (minor source)30
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)11
TRI reporting facility9
Small hazardous waste generator8
Public airport7
Major air pollution source5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Large greenhouse gas emitter4
Landfill (mapped facility)4
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)4
Large hazardous waste generator2
Biomass power plant2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Oil-fired power 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.

Silgan Containers Manufacturing Corp, Maxton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Butyl alcohol, Certain glycol ethers, Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 140,372 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28364SLGNC2120N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Sanderson Farms St. Pauls Processing, Saint Pauls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia, Hydrogen sulfide, Peracetic acid. 630,222 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2838WSNDRS276NC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Silgan Can Company, Maxton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000350085 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Mountaire Farms Inc. - Lumber Bridge, Lumber Bridge
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Peracetic acid. 244,426 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28357MNTRFHWY71 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Red Springs Wwtp, Red Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,560.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000761943 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
City Of Lumberton, Lumberton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $90,706.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006522904 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Pembroke (Town) - Wwtp, Pembroke
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,655.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009845249 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Sanderson Farms St. Pauls Processing, St. Pauls
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069992280 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Mountaire Farms Inc Lumber Bridge, Lumber Bridge
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000755772 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Elkay Plumbing Products Co, Lumberton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Nickel, Manganese, Copper and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 152 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28360LKYST88CAT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Alamac American Knits Limited Liability Company, Lumberton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000531826 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Watts Regulator Co, Saint Pauls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Propylene, Diisocyanates, Nickel, Chromium and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 20 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28384SPXVL1491N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
North Carolina Renewable Power, Llc, Lumberton
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070835016 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Maxton Wtp, Maxton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $21,735.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006709357 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Rowland Wwtp, Rowland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,932.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009843116 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Campbell Soup Supply Company, Maxton
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $4,458.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018837892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Parkton Wwtp, Parkton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $18,716.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009845472 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Fairmont Regional Wwtp, Fairmont
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040034245 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Elkay Southern Corporation, Lumberton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001493090 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Silgan Can Company, Maxton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000350085 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Campbell Soup Supply Company, Maxton
Major air pollution source. Penalties $4,458.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018837892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Raemon Well Wtp, Maxton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $605.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020152252 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Safety-Kleen Systems Saint Pauls (Stp), Saint Pauls
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Lead, Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28384SFTYKHWY30 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.7
S&W Lumberton Plant, Lumberton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 2835WSWLMB85SUT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Lewis-Brady Builders Supply, Inc, Fairmont
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022549795 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5

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 Robeson 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 Robeson 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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