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Barnwell County, South Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Barnwell County is 190.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 115 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (41), Gas station (mapped facility) (15), Air permit holder (minor source) (13). 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: 33.2887, -81.4289.

How this county ranks in South 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 Barnwell County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	190.8	143.2	1.33xSignificant	167.9 to 216.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.8	17.9	1.27x	15 to 33.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	38	30.2	1.26x	28.5 to 50	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	392.9	453.4	0.87x	359.7 to 428.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.2	18.5	0.82x	9.3 to 23.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	42.1	51.8	0.81x	32.2 to 54.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	12.1	18.7	0.65x	7.3 to 19.6	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 Barnwell County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	17,191.1	9,842.6	+75%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	69.6	75.3	-8%	years
Child mortality	74.2	59.8	+24%	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	128.2	96.9	+32%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	59.9	28.6	+109%	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.

Formaldehyde22.89 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde2.3 per million
Benzene0.73 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit41
Gas station (mapped facility)15
Air permit holder (minor source)13
Rail grade crossing12
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)6
Large hazardous waste generator5
Solar power plant5
TRI reporting facility4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Major air pollution source3
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Superfund (NPL) site1
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.

Shuron Inc., Barnwell
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 68.3. NPL Site.
EPA site ID SCD003357589 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Augusta Fiberglass Coatings Inc, Blackville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 413,160 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29817GSTFBROUTE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Befesa Zinc Us Inc., Barnwell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese compounds, Lead compounds, Cadmium compounds and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 48,053 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2981WHRSHD941TE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Augusta Fiberglass Coatings Inc, Blackville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 31,880 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2981WGSTFB415WA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Augusta Fiberglass Coatings Inc, Blackville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002178884 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
American Zinc Recycling Corp, Barnwell
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040451533 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.6
Augusta Fiberglas Coatings Inc, Blackville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064386141 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Barnwell, City Of Wwtf (New), Edgefield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039814252 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Koch & Co., Inc - Barnwell Plant, Barnwell
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $6,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071231524 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Blackville Ww Treatment Plant, Blackville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,704.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002235037 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Crane Payment Innovations, Williston
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Manganese, Diisocyanates. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 29853DMRLCINDUS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
American Zinc Recycling Corp, Barnwell
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040451533 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Dixie Narco Incorporated, Williston
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000587785 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Augusta Fiberglass Coatings Inc, Blackville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002178884 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Swiss Krono Sc Llc, Barnwell
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070715968 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
American Zinc Recycling Corp, Barnwell
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040451533 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Augusta Fiberglass Coatings Inc, Blackville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002178884 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Augusta Fiberglass Coatings Inc, Blackville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002178884 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Swiss Krono Sc Llc, Barnwell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070715968 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
U.S. Renal Care Barnwell Dialysis, Barnwell
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072019729 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Sc28 Over Savannah River
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072098047 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Koch & Co., Inc - Barnwell Plant, Barnwell
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $6,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071231524 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Tri County Pallet Co Inc, Barnwell
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $8,100.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038501911 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Barnwell Rgnl, Barnwell
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID BNL (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1371659552 (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 Barnwell 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 Barnwell 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.

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