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Yancey County, North Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Yancey County is 144 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 61 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (38), Air permit holder (minor source) (9), Gas station (mapped facility) (6). 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: 35.8917, -82.2975.

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 Yancey County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	30	18.7	1.6xSignificant	21.8 to 41	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	37.8	23.8	1.59xSignificant	27.7 to 50.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	21.6	13.9	1.55xSignificant	14.9 to 31.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	74.6	51.8	1.44xSignificant	61.6 to 90.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	15.2	11.3	1.35x	9.9 to 23.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.6	17.9	1.32x	15.6 to 34.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.5	18.5	1.16x	14.9 to 30.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	34.7	30.2	1.15x	26.3 to 45.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	510.9	453.4	1.13xSignificant	473.3 to 551	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.5	8.7	1.09x	5.5 to 16.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	144	143.2	1.01x	126.6 to 163.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	11.5	14.5	0.79x	6.8 to 19	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 Yancey County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,896.6	9,842.6	-10%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	110.2	96.9	+14%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	26.9	28.6	-6%	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.

Formaldehyde14.75 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.7 per million
Acetaldehyde1.26 per million
Benzene0.6 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2024

Monitored on 204 days: 167 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 44, peak 84.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit38
Air permit holder (minor source)9
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Altec Industries Inc., Burnsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 142 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 28714LTCND15ALT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Burnsville Wwtp, Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,580.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006711031 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Altec Industries, Inc. - Burnsville Facility, Burnsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024419869 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.7
South Toe River Wwtp, Micaville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043162234 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Altec Industries, Inc. - Burnsville Facility, Burnsville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024419869 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Burnsville, Town Of, Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018658095 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Messiah Of The Mountains Lutheran Church, Micaville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006672653 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
280 Burnsville School Road, Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006716278 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Southern Concrete Mat-Yancey, Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009717253 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Sawmill Hollow, Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009719000 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Philip Garland, Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009850223 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Harrison Construction Division Of Apac-Atlantic Inc., Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009851918 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Unimin Corporation, Green Mountain
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018554330 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Glen Raven, Inc., Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018558103 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
52 Bald Creek School Road, Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110018787482 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Burnsville Elementary, Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021936431 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Yancey Stone Company-Low Gap Quarry, Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044960138 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wilson Mine, Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045293721 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Omc Rock Yard, Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070884140 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
1489 Cane Branch Road, Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071202618 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bryant And Young Lumber Co Inc, Spruce Pine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071339217 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
168 Rocky Springs Heights, Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071910142 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Blue Ridge Elementary School Addition, Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071916177 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Browns Creek Church New Church Project, Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071919202 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bryant & Young Yard Improvement Project, Burnsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071919327 (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 Yancey 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 Yancey 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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