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Meigs County, Tennessee: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Meigs County is 184.8 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 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 52 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (28), Air permit holder (minor source) (9), Large hazardous waste generator (4). 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: 35.5204, -84.8012.

How this county ranks in Tennessee

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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 Meigs County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	51	30.2	1.69xSignificant	38.4 to 67.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	71.4	51.8	1.38xSignificant	55.8 to 90.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	184.8	143.2	1.29xSignificant	157.9 to 215.5	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22	17.9	1.23x	11.9 to 37.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.5	18.5	1.05x	11.3 to 32.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	464	453.4	1.02x	419.6 to 512.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.6	18.7	0.94x	10.4 to 29	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	16.6	23.8	0.7x	9.8 to 27.6	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 Meigs County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	17,656.8	9,842.6	+79%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	69.1	75.3	-8%	years
Child mortality	87.7	59.8	+47%	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	141.6	96.9	+46%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	61.8	28.6	+116%	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.

Formaldehyde23.2 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.55 per million
Benzene0.92 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit28
Air permit holder (minor source)9
Large hazardous waste generator4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Gas station (mapped facility)3
TRI reporting facility2
Public airport1
Small hazardous waste generator1

Highest-severity records

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

Cymer Llc, Decatur
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Carbon disulfide, Methanol, Ammonia and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 20,274 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37322CYMRL124CY (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Cymer Llc, Decatur
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005005993 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Storm Power Components, Decatur
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015783455 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Storm Power Components, Decatur
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitric acid, Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead compounds, Silver And Silver Compounds. 2,751 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 37322STRMC240IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Solomon Corp, Decatur
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polychlorinated biphenyls. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 37322SLMNCSOLOM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Cymer Llc, Decatur
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005005993 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Storm Power Components, Decatur
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015783455 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Added Value Services, Inc., Decatur
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015819373 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Shaw Industries, Inc. - Decatur, Decatur
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058286901 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Twin K - Ready Mix - Plant 3, Decatur
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Mixture.
TRI facility ID 3732WPSRDY1768H (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Cymer Llc, Decatur
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005005993 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Decatur Stp, Decatur
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009787542 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Cymer Llc, Decatur
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110005005993 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Savannah Valley Utility District, Georgetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042369488 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Solomon Corporation, Decatur
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033647016 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Solomon Corporation, Decatur
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033647016 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Ten Mile Quarry, Ten Mile
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009788676 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Decatur Water Dept & Eaves Spring Wtp, Decatur
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010148508 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Polyform, Inc., Decatur
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012173316 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Georgetown Quarry, Georgetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043515657 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Jennings Truck Parts, Inc., Decatur
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058286876 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Shaw Industries, Inc. - Decatur, Decatur
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058286901 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Georgetown Quarry, Georgetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063915544 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rogers Group, Inc. Dba Decatur Concrete Plant, Decatur
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064239104 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wright Brothers Llc Rock Borrow Excavation Site, Georgetown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070826509 (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 Meigs County

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