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Chester County, South Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Chester County is 199.3 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. Federal databases place 339 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (111), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (107), Air permit holder (minor source) (35). 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: 34.682, -81.1658.

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 Chester County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	57.8	30.2	1.91xSignificant	48.1 to 69	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	7.6	4.6	1.65x	4.3 to 12.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	79.9	51.8	1.54xSignificant	68.3 to 93	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	20.2	13.9	1.45xSignificant	14.6 to 27.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	199.3	143.2	1.39xSignificant	180.6 to 219.6	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	8.6	6.2	1.39x	4.9 to 14.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	14.6	11.3	1.29x	9.9 to 21.1	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	22	18.7	1.18x	16 to 29.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	505	453.4	1.11xSignificant	474.5 to 537.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7	6.6	1.06x	3.9 to 11.9	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	13.6	14.5	0.94x	8.8 to 20.1	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	22.3	23.8	0.94x	16.2 to 30.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.4	18.5	0.78x	9.6 to 21	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	12	17.9	0.67x	7.8 to 18	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 Chester County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	17,890.3	9,842.6	+82%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	68.6	75.3	-9%	years
Child mortality	127.2	59.8	+113%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	11.8	6.2	+90%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	140.5	96.9	+45%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	37.4	28.6	+31%	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.

Formaldehyde22.44 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde2.35 per million
Benzene0.9 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing111
NPDES wastewater discharge permit107
Air permit holder (minor source)35
Gas station (mapped facility)19
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)16
TRI reporting facility13
Brownfield property9
Major air pollution source7
Small hazardous waste generator5
Large hazardous waste generator4
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Hydroelectric plant3
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
Scrapyard (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.

Carolawn, Inc., Fort Lawn
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 32. NPL Site.
EPA site ID SCD980558316 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Synthomer Inc., Chester
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Vinyl acetate, Methyl methacrylate, Butyl acrylate, Styrene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. Reports PFAS. 16,836 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29706SQCHMONESE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.2
Boise Cascade Wood Products-Chester Plywood, Chester
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Phenol, Formaldehyde. Reports carcinogens. 385,202 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29706WLLMTHWY9E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Boise Cascade Wood Products Llc Chester Plywood, Chester
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $20,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016952421 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.5
Building Materials Manufacturing Llc, Chester
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde. Reports carcinogens. 83,600 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29706GFBLD190OR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Engineered Polymer Solutions, Chester
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Vinyl acetate, Methyl methacrylate, Styrene, Methyl acrylate and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 52,050 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29706SPCLT869OL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Giti Tire Manufacturing Co (Usa) Ltd, Richburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese, Copper, Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens. 17,442 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2972WGTTRM1GITI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Coatex Inc, Chester
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acrylic acid, Ethyl acrylate, Diisocyanates, Butyl acrylate and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 7,024 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29706CTXPL547EC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Guardian Industries, Richburg
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $7,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043853238 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Chemtrade Performance Chemicals Us Llc, Carlisle
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 3,712 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29031VRGNCROUTE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Allvac Richburg Plant, Richburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Hydrogen fluoride, Nickel, Chromium and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 572 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29729TLDYNHWY9X (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Synthomer Inc., Chester
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $12,050.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035815348 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.6
Guardian Industries Llc, Richburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds. 43,971 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29729GRDNN610LC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Shugart Manufacturing, Chester
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 138 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2970WSHGRT923LD (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Chester Sandy River Waste Water Treatment Facility, Chester
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002040540 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Building Materials Manufacturing Corp, Chester
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002233164 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Specialty Polymers Inc, Chester
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000569395 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Great Falls Wwtf, Great Falls
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006623163 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Boise Cascade Wood Products Llc Chester Plywood, Chester
Major air pollution source. Penalties $20,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016952421 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Coatex & Polacryl, Chester
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001672422 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Marcegaglia Stainless Richburg Llc, Richburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Manganese, Copper. Reports carcinogens. 20 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29729VSTPL3043C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.5
Chester Lando-Manetta Plant, Chester
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006662931 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Giti Tire Manufacturing Company (Usa) Limited, Richburg
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070673051 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Chemtrade Performance Chemicals Us Llc Leeds Site, Carlisle
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002182138 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Jones-Hamilton Co., Richburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size). 917 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2972WJNSHM4433R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.3

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 Chester 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 Chester 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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