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Swain County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Swain County is 220.3 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 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 144 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (62), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (48), Gas station (mapped facility) (12). 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: 35.4866, -83.5973.

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 Swain County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Liver & bile duct	New cases	17.4	8.7	2xSignificant	10.2 to 28.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	33	18.5	1.78xSignificant	21.6 to 48.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	18.4	11.3	1.63x	11 to 29.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	82.8	51.8	1.6xSignificant	66.3 to 102.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	21.4	13.9	1.54x	13.6 to 32.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	220.3	143.2	1.54xSignificant	191 to 253.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	42.2	30.2	1.4xSignificant	30.6 to 57.4	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	581.7	453.4	1.28xSignificant	533.2 to 633.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	27.4	23.8	1.15x	17.2 to 41.8	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 Swain County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	19,177	9,842.6	+95%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	67.3	75.3	-11%	years
Child mortality	108.9	59.8	+82%	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	152.5	96.9	+57%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	63.9	28.6	+123%	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.

Formaldehyde15.15 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.72 per million
Acetaldehyde1.44 per million
Benzene0.6 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 365 days: 296 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 37, peak 87.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing62
NPDES wastewater discharge permit48
Gas station (mapped facility)12
Air permit holder (minor source)7
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
EPA air quality monitor3
Heliport2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Public airport1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Hydroelectric plant1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

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

Southern Concrete Materials - Bryson City, Bryson City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022404352 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.1
Cherokee Wwtp, Cherokee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010826641 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Nantahala Village Wwtp, Bryson City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $14,761.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006710023 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Town Of Bryson City, Bryson City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,379.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009719572 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Cherokee Trout Farm, Cherokee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009720123 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Cherokee Tribal Trout Farm, Cherokee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016693773 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Fortner Contracting Incorporated, Bryson City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018861267 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Southern Concrete Materials - Bryson City, Bryson City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022404352 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Nantahala Outdoor Center, Bryson City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006708973 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Smoky Mountain Country Club Estates, Whittier
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012902216 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Bryson City, Bryson City (RR name Bryson)
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 371730002 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4.2
Fortner Contracting Incorporated, Bryson City
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110018861267 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Southern Concrete Materials - Bryson City, Bryson City
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110022404352 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Old High School
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 371730007 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 3.7
Southern Concrete Materials-Bryson City Plant, Bryson City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds. 2 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2871WSTHRN45IND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.4
Camp Greenbird Wwtp, Bryson City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006708722 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Camp Watia Wwtp, Bryson City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110062664291 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Beasley Flooring Products Inc., Bryson City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers.
TRI facility ID 2871WSHWND77IND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Cheoah Powerhouse, Tapoco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061707899 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Consolidated Metco, Inc. - Bryson City, Bryson City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000860998 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Smoky Mountain Trout Farm, Cherokee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006888449 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Apac-Tennessee Incorporated, Topton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007376712 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bryson Hydroelectric Project, Bryson City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009850063 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Monteith Lumber Co Incorporated, Bryson City
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009857011 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Nantahala Talc & Limestone Co, Topton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009860016 (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 Swain 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 Swain 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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