SC / county FIPS 45003 / county research

Aiken County, South Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Aiken County is 149.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.1 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 803 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (424), Rail grade crossing (110), Gas station (mapped facility) (66). 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: 33.5364, -81.663.

How this county ranks in South Carolina

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Aiken County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	Deaths	5.2	4.1	1.27x	4 to 6.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.8	5.7	1.19x	5.3 to 8.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	34	30.2	1.13xSignificant	30.9 to 37.4	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	17.8	16.4	1.09x	11.7 to 25.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.1	4.8	1.06x	3.9 to 6.6	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	149.6	143.2	1.04x	142.8 to 156.8	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.5	4.4	1.02x	3.4 to 6	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	11	11.3	0.97x	9.2 to 13.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	3.3	3.4	0.97x	2.4 to 4.6	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	13.3	13.9	0.96x	11.3 to 15.6	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	4.4	4.6	0.96x	3.3 to 5.8	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.9	6.2	0.95x	4.4 to 7.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	1.9	2	0.95x	1.2 to 3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	48.1	51.8	0.93x	44.3 to 52.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.9	8.7	0.91x	6.3 to 9.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	406.9	453.4	0.9x	395 to 419	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.8	6.6	0.88x	4.6 to 7.4	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	3.2	3.7	0.86x	2.3 to 4.4	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	5.6	6.6	0.85x	4.3 to 7.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	15.4	18.7	0.82x	13.3 to 17.8	2019-2023
Stomach	Deaths	2.2	2.7	0.81x	1.4 to 3.4	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	11.5	14.5	0.79x	9.5 to 13.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.5	18.5	0.78x	12.3 to 17.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	13.8	17.9	0.77x	11.7 to 16.2	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	8.7	13	0.67x	6.9 to 11	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	14.8	23.8	0.62x	12.6 to 17.4	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 Aiken County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,448.6	9,842.6	+26%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.5	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	67.4	59.8	+13%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7.3	6.2	+18%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	117.1	96.9	+21%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	49.6	28.6	+74%	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.

Formaldehyde25.5 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde2.43 per million
Benzene0.89 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 266 days: 241 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 39, peak 71.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit424
Rail grade crossing110
Gas station (mapped facility)66
Air permit holder (minor source)47
Brownfield property22
Small hazardous waste generator20
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)20
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)17
TRI reporting facility17
Major air pollution source16
Large hazardous waste generator11
Public airport7
Large greenhouse gas emitter5
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)3
Industrial wastewater discharge3
Landfill (mapped facility)3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
Superfund (NPL) site2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Biomass power plant1
Gas power plant1
Solar power plant1
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.

Savannah River Site (USDOE), Aiken
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 47.7. NPL Site.
EPA site ID SC1890008989 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Clearwater Finishing, Clearwater
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 48. NPL Site.
EPA site ID SCD003303120 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
U.S. Doe Savannah River Ops, Aiken
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid, Naphthalene, Ammonia and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 654,248 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29802SDSVNSCHWY (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9
Graniteville Specialty Fabrics, Graniteville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Antimony And Antimony Compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 440,927 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29829GRNTVNEWTO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Owens Corning, Aiken
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Methanol. Reports carcinogens. 183,081 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29801WNSCRHWY30 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Hpc Holdings Inc, North Augusta
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Dichloromethane, Freon 113 (CFC-113), Hydrogen fluoride, Chlorine and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 32,669 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29841HLCRBNORTH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Bridgestone Aiken County Plant, Graniteville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Phenol, Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Cobalt compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 26,505 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29829BRDGS1BRID (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Allnex Usa Inc North Augusta Facility, North Augusta
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Certain glycol ethers, Methyl methacrylate, Acrylic acid and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 17,540 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29841CBRDC131RE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations Llc Aiken County Off, Trenton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Lead compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 9,438 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2984WBRDGS7777G (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Allnex Usa Inc, Warrenville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Xylene (mixed isomers), Butyl acrylate, Methyl isobutyl ketone and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 6,829 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29834VLCHMCARLI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Agy Aiken Llc, Aiken
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrogen fluoride, Certain glycol ethers, Methanol. 277,932 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29801DVNCD2556W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Asco Valve Manufacturing, Aiken
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001672164 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Kimberly-Clark Palmetto, Beech Island
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017348084 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Us Doe Savannah River Site, Aiken
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006909248 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Hubbell Power Systems Inc, Aiken
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Lead compounds, Copper. 84,236 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29801HBBLL2200R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Horse Creek Pollution Control Facility, North Augusta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000706941 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Ucb Chemicals Corporation Bioproducts Laboratory, N Augusta
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $8,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017203042 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.6
Urquhart Station, Beech Island
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000355534 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Kimberly-Clark Palmetto, Beech Island
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017348084 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Doe Ameresco Savannah River Site Biomass Cogen, Aiken
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046328693 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Zeus Co Llc Asc, Aiken
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers. 35,298 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2980WZSCMP2499L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
72186 - The Carlstar Group Llc, Aiken
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol. 34,480 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2980WTHCRL25WIN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Owens Corning, Aiken
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022334375 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Graniteville Specialty Fabrics - A Division Of Bondcote Performance Textiles, Graniteville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031367036 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Hubbell Power Systems Inc, Aiken
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000355428 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1

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 Aiken County

South 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 Aiken County, and their findings.
South 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.
South Carolina health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
South 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.
South 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.

Scan an address in Aiken County View on the heat map All South Carolina counties