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Washington County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Washington County is 194.4 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 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 93 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (27), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (26), Gas station (mapped facility) (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: 35.8403, -76.5773.

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 Washington County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Pancreas	New cases	23.2	13.9	1.67x	13.9 to 37.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	18.5	11.3	1.64x	10.2 to 32.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	48.4	30.2	1.6xSignificant	35 to 66.4	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	194.4	143.2	1.36xSignificant	164.7 to 228.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	70.1	51.8	1.35xSignificant	53.5 to 91.4	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	524.1	453.4	1.16xSignificant	473.6 to 579.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.7	18.7	1.11x	12.1 to 34.6	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 Washington County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	16,100	9,842.6	+64%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.2	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	111.9	59.8	+87%	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	104.2	96.9	+7%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde16.47 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.51 per million
Benzene0.68 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing27
NPDES wastewater discharge permit26
Gas station (mapped facility)11
Air permit holder (minor source)9
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Solar power plant3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
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.

Domtar Paper Co Llc-Plymouth Mill, Plymouth
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Hydrogen sulfide, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Ammonia and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 5,354,956 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27962WYRHSTROWB (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.7
Weyerhaeuser Nr Co - Lumber Technologies, Plymouth
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol. 147,030 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27962WYRHSMAINA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Roper Wwtp, Roper
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $679.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006709918 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Creswell Wwtp, Creswell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,638.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009844115 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Creswell Wtp, Creswell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,871.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018669724 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Murphy-Brown, Llc - New Colony Mill, Creswell
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000347900 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Plymouth Wwtp, Plymouth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009846015 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Plymouth Municipal Airport, Runway 21 Ext, Plymouth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045405566 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Murphy Brown Llc New Colony Feed Mill, Creswell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc (fume or dust), Copper And Copper Compounds, Manganese compounds, Copper compounds. 16 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 27928TYSNF347SH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4
Donald'S Air Park Inc, Plymouth
Public airport. O.
Record ID 7NC (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Plymouth Muni, Plymouth
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID PMZ (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Town of Creswell Water Treatment Facility
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1301561196 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Washington County Water Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1304818046 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/434541697 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/434541699 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Town of Plymouth Wastewater Treatment Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/883064113 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Murphy-Brown, Llc - New Colony Mill, Creswell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000347900 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Washington Co-Landfill Cap, Roper
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009859199 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Washington County Water System, Roper
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017696947 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Pettigrew State Park, Creswell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018707416 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mackeys Ferry Sawmill - Roper, Roper
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022561887 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Davenport Sand Company, Roper
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024407765 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ready Mixed Concrete Company, Plymouth
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030916980 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Darrell Davenport Sand Mine, Creswell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043672013 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Patrick Car Sales, Creswell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070249447 (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 Washington 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 Washington 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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