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Sumter County, South Carolina: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Sumter County is 177.6 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 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 436 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (181), Rail grade crossing (72), Air permit holder (minor source) (59). One correctional facility operates in the county, at least one with health-based drinking water violations on record. 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: 33.9062, -80.3414.

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 Sumter County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	43.1	30.2	1.43xSignificant	38.3 to 48.4	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	7.7	5.7	1.35x	5.6 to 10.2	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	3.5	2.7	1.3x	2.1 to 5.3	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6.2	4.8	1.29x	4.4 to 8.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.3	3.4	1.26x	2.8 to 6.3	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	177.6	143.2	1.24xSignificant	167.5 to 188.3	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.7	4.6	1.24x	4.1 to 7.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	62.3	51.8	1.2xSignificant	56.4 to 68.6	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.4	3.7	1.19x	2.9 to 6.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	13.1	11.3	1.16x	10.4 to 16.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	16.1	13.9	1.16x	13.1 to 19.5	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7.6	6.6	1.15x	5.6 to 10.2	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.1	6.6	1.08x	5.3 to 9.4	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	4.4	4.1	1.07x	2.9 to 6.4	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.6	4.4	1.05x	3 to 6.8	2020-2024
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	17.1	16.4	1.04x	10.1 to 27.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	447.5	453.4	0.99x	430.9 to 464.7	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.1	6.2	0.98x	4.2 to 8.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.3	17.9	0.97x	14.1 to 20.9	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.8	8.7	0.9x	5.9 to 10.1	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	10.8	13	0.83x	8 to 14.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	11.9	14.5	0.82x	9.2 to 15.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	14.7	18.7	0.79x	11.9 to 18	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	13.2	18.5	0.71x	10.4 to 16.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	12.5	23.8	0.53x	9.9 to 15.6	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 Sumter County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,356.2	9,842.6	+36%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.1	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	81.6	59.8	+37%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8.2	6.2	+33%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	111.3	96.9	+15%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	31.7	28.6	+11%	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.

Formaldehyde22.94 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde2.21 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

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit181
Rail grade crossing72
Air permit holder (minor source)59
Gas station (mapped facility)34
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)21
TRI reporting facility17
Large hazardous waste generator12
Small hazardous waste generator10
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)9
Hazardous waste transporter7
Major air pollution source3
Brownfield property3
Commercial airport2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Public airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Heliport1

Highest-severity records

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

Giant Resource Recovery Inc - Sumter Facility, Sumter
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $182,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000618724 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.5
Gold Kist Sumter Processing Plant, Sumter
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $23,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000746792 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.3
Nova Molecular Sumter Llc, Sumter
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetonitrile, Formaldehyde. Reports carcinogens. 30,194 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2915WNVMLC755IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Shaw Afb (Sc4310501)-New Plant 1 New Well 1(G43384), Shaw Afb
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $7,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017064219 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.9
Sumter Coatings Inc, Sumter
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene, Toluene, Zinc compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 23,810 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29150SMTRC2410H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.9
Pilgrim'S Pride Sumter Processing Plant, Sumter
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia, Peracetic acid, Hydrogen sulfide and 2 more. 1,585,538 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29150CMPBL2050H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Skf Usa Inc, Sumter
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $17,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000352289 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.7
Apex Tool Group Llc, Sumter
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $15,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004938346 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Continental Tire The Americas Llc, Sumter
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Cobalt And Cobalt Compounds, Cobalt compounds, Polycyclic aromatic compounds and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,899 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2915WCNTNN185HW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Shaw Afb (Sc4310501)-New Plant 1 New Well 1(G43384), Shaw Afb
Major air pollution source. Penalties $7,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017064219 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Us Dod Usaf Poinsett Bombing Gunnery & Electronic Warfare, Wedgefield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead, Nitroglycerin. Reports carcinogens. 823 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2915WPNSTTSCHWY (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Skf Plant 12b, Sumter
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol. 56,091 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2915WSKFPL925CR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Apex Tool Group Llc, Sumter
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $15,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004938346 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Shaw Afb (Sc4310501)-New Plant 1 New Well 1(G43384), Shaw Afb
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $7,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017064219 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Shaw Afb (Sc4310501)-New Plant 1 New Well 1(G43384), Shaw Afb
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $7,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017064219 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Apex Tool Group Llc Sumter Sc Operation, Sumter
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Methanol, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Sodium nitrite. Reports carcinogens. 329 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29154CRSCN43486 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Us Dod Usaf Shaw Afb, Shaw Afb
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Naphthalene, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 196 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29152SDDSF517LA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Kaydon Corp Plant 12, Sumter
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol. 17,572 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29151KYDNC3CORP (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.3
Nova Molecular Recovery Qozb Holdings Llc, Sumter
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetonitrile, Ammonia. 9,092 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2915WNVMLC1135R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
Giant Resource Recovery Inc - Sumter Facility, Sumter
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $182,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000618724 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Giant Resource Recovery Inc - Sumter Facility, Sumter
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $182,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000618724 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Pinewood Site, Pinewood
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002181745 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Pinewood Site, Pinewood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002181745 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Skf Plant 12b, Sumter
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071313346 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Giant Resource Recovery-Sumter Inc, Sumter
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Acetonitrile. 5,437 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 29151STHST755IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.9

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Sc Department Corrections Wateree River, Sumter
EPA FRS registry ID
110006663039
Water system
SC4370050
Health-based violations
40 all time, 0 in 5 years
All violations
42
Contaminants cited
Combined Radium (-226 and -228), Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U
Wastewater permit
Yes, 12 quarters in noncompliance
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Sumter 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 Sumter 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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