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Highland County, Ohio: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Highland County is 177.5 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 1.9 times the U.S. rate and Kidney & renal pelvis deaths at 1.9 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 114 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Gas station (mapped facility) (26), Rail grade crossing (26), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (22). 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: 39.2102, -83.6082.

How this county ranks in Ohio

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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 Highland County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	58.2	30.2	1.93xSignificant	50 to 67.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	6.3	3.4	1.85xSignificant	3.7 to 10	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	86.6	51.8	1.67xSignificant	76.6 to 97.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	7.8	4.8	1.63xSignificant	4.9 to 11.9	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	8.1	5.7	1.42x	5.1 to 12.5	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	6.1	4.6	1.33x	3.5 to 9.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	30	23.8	1.26x	23.5 to 37.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	177.5	143.2	1.24xSignificant	162.7 to 193.4	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	22.5	18.7	1.2x	17.2 to 29	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.6	17.9	1.09x	14.7 to 25.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	480.7	453.4	1.06xSignificant	455 to 507.5	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.3	6.2	1.02x	3.5 to 10.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.4	11.3	0.92x	7 to 15	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.9	18.5	0.91x	12.4 to 22.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.9	14.5	0.89x	8.9 to 18.1	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	5.8	6.6	0.88x	3.2 to 9.6	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	10.3	13	0.79x	6.5 to 15.5	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.7	8.7	0.77x	4 to 10.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	10.1	13.9	0.73x	6.8 to 14.5	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 Highland County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,713.9	9,842.6	+19%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.1	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	85.1	59.8	+42%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	9.3	6.2	+50%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	97.6	96.9	+1%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	42.3	28.6	+48%	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.

Formaldehyde17.91 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde1.87 per million
Benzene0.96 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Gas station (mapped facility)26
Rail grade crossing26
NPDES wastewater discharge permit22
Air permit holder (minor source)14
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Small hazardous waste generator5
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Brownfield property2
Heliport2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1

Highest-severity records

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

Standardaero, Hillsboro
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 1,356 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4513WPSTCH214HB (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Adient Us Llc, Greenfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene diisocyanate (mixed isomers), Diethanolamine. Reports carcinogens. 693 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 45123JHNSN1147N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Pas Technologies, Hillsboro
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070106265 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.1
Adient Greenfield, Greenfield
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000392824 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Hillsboro Wwtp, Hillsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006310321 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Candle-Lite Inc, Leesburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000392842 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Huhtamaki, Inc., New Vienna
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110032746223 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Pleasant Acres Mhp, Hillsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027372732 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
B&Amp;O Railroad Yard, Former, Hillsboro, Hillsboro
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071982696 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Bell'S Foundry, Hillsboro
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071992895 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Butler Springs Christian Camp & Retreat Ctr, Hillsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027253567 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Highco Inc., Hillsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071092667 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Candle-Lite Co Llc, Leesburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: 1,3,4,6,7,8-Hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta[g]-2-benzopyran.
TRI facility ID 45135CNDLL250EA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Leesburg Wwtp, Leesburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006310358 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
South Central Power Service Center, Hillsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070938557 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Country Home Mobile Court *, Hillsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006310492 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Rocky Fork Lake Wwtp, Hillsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008574925 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Hickory Hills Lake Wwtp, Hillsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031109869 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Bp Amoco Oil Corp Hillsboro Bulk Plt No 69544, Hillsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000906253 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Highland County Water Co Inc, Bainbridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006310599 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Rolling Acres Wwtp, Hillsboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064265655 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Highland County, Hillsboro
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID HOC (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1021101780 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1272015692 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Adient Greenfield, Greenfield
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000392824 (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 Highland County

Ohio 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 Highland County, and their findings.
Ohio vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Ohio health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Ohio 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.
Ohio 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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