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Transylvania County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Transylvania County is 127.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 119 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (86), Gas station (mapped facility) (10), Air permit holder (minor source) (8). 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: 35.2256, -82.7696.

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 Transylvania County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	31.2	23.8	1.31xSignificant	25 to 39	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	24	18.7	1.28xSignificant	19.3 to 30.1	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.9	4.1	1.2x	3 to 8.4	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	16	14.5	1.1x	11.1 to 22.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	54.9	51.8	1.06x	47.1 to 63.9	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.5	6.2	1.05x	3.4 to 11.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5	4.8	1.04x	2.7 to 9	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.5	6.6	0.98x	3.9 to 10.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.9	30.2	0.96x	23.5 to 35.6	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.3	8.7	0.95x	4.8 to 13.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	419.3	453.4	0.92x	394.8 to 445.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5.2	5.7	0.91x	3.2 to 8.9	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.2	17.9	0.91x	11.3 to 22.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	127.6	143.2	0.89x	115.2 to 141.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	9.9	11.3	0.88x	6.3 to 15.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	10.9	13.9	0.78x	7.4 to 16	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	13.6	18.5	0.74x	9.9 to 18.8	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	4.8	6.6	0.73x	2.6 to 8.8	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	8	13	0.62x	4.4 to 13.7	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 Transylvania County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,664.9	9,842.6	-22%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	79.1	75.3	+5%	years
Child mortality	67.2	59.8	+12%	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	102.6	96.9	+6%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	17.8	28.6	-38%	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.

Formaldehyde16.38 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.72 per million
Acetaldehyde1.42 per million
Benzene0.7 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit86
Gas station (mapped facility)10
Air permit holder (minor source)8
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Large hazardous waste generator3
Brownfield property2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Major air pollution source1
Public airport1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
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.

City Of Brevard, Brevard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,642.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000762336 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Wood Recyclers Inc. (Aci), Pisgah Forest
Major air pollution source. Penalties $4,176.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071293650 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Toxaway Falls Wwtp, Leicester
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $299.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006804173 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Ridge Haven Wwtp, Brevard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,359.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067615450 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Rosman (Town) Wwtp, Rosman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,310.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009845855 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
9526 Rosman Highway, Rosman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006713208 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
1981 Everett Road, Pisgah Forest
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006713459 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Camp Carolina Wwtp, Brevard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,646.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009719938 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Waterford Place Wwtp, Brevard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009844071 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
M-B Industries Wwtp, Rosman
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018580775 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
M-B Industries Wwtp, Rosman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018580775 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Sherwood Forest Wwtp, Brevard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071710850 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Sapphire Lakes Utility Company, Incorporated, Sapphire
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,871.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009843722 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
M-B Industries Wwtp, Rosman
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110018580775 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Clinic Road Farm, Balsam Grove
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039517859 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Pisgah Laboratories Inc., Pisgah Forest
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000351627 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Driver Training Facility, Brevard
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043637491 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Transylvania Tannery, Brevard
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973742 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Raybow Usa, Inc., Brevard
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015324996 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
New Excelsior, Inc., Brevard
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024419832 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Eagle'S Nest Camp Wwtp, Pisgah Forest
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $927.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009844160 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Adventure Village Wwtp, Brevard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012748802 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
The Wilds Christian Camp, Brevard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006710764 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Cantrell Creek Trout Farm, Brevard
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022564376 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/744744351 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2

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 Transylvania 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 Transylvania 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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