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Wayne County, Tennessee: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Wayne County is 200 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 2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 62 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (36), Air permit holder (minor source) (7), Major air pollution source (3). 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: 35.2557, -87.7804.

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 Wayne County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	59.2	30.2	1.96xSignificant	46.3 to 75.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	88.1	51.8	1.7xSignificant	72.3 to 107	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	27.7	18.5	1.5xSignificant	18.7 to 40	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	200	143.2	1.4xSignificant	175.1 to 227.9	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	15.5	13.9	1.12x	9.4 to 24.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.6	11.3	1.03x	6.6 to 20	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.9	17.9	1x	10.9 to 28.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	451.3	453.4	1x	412.6 to 493.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.6	18.7	0.99x	11.4 to 29.4	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 Wayne County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,259.2	9,842.6	+4%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.7	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	92.4	59.8	+55%	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	97	96.9	+0%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	20.3	28.6	-29%	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.

Formaldehyde22.29 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde2.26 per million
Benzene0.68 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit36
Air permit holder (minor source)7
Major air pollution source3
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Brownfield property2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Superfund (NPL) site1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

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

Mallory Capacitor Co., Waynesboro
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 29.4. NPL Site.
EPA site ID TND075453688 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
American Whirlpool, Clifton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene. Reports carcinogens. 76,235 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 38425MRCNW316VI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Praxis Companies Llc Dba American Whirlpool, Clifton
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030817114 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Praxis Companies Llc Dba American Whirlpool, Clifton
Major air pollution source. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030817114 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Praxis Companies Llc Dba American Whirlpool, Clifton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030817114 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Mueller Gas Products - Waynesboro Div, Waynesboro
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Copper. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 38485LNCLNHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Waynesboro Stp, Waynesboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009788863 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, Station 555, Cypress Inn
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001994316 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Columbia Gulf Transmission, Llc - Clifton Junction Compressor Station, Waynesboro
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070005242 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Hog Creek Rd, Waynesboro
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072250647 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
County Landfill, Waynesboro
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072250648 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tennessee Gas Pipeline - Station 555, Cypress Inn
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054862341 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Wayne County Rock, Inc., Waynesboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006664243 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Clifton Stp #2, Clifton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009786473 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Waynesboro Water System, Waynesboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038451350 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Hassell Fld, Clifton
Public airport. O.
Record ID M29 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1236345392 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1443480683 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Clifton Lagoon #1, Clifton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009787329 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
River City Concrete, Inc - Waynesboro Plant, Waynesboro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013807773 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Gilchrist Used Cars, Cypress Inn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058930634 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
C-Wood Lumber Co., Inc., Collinwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070309576 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Mallory Capacitor Co., Waynesboro
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110004976713 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Vulcan Construction Materials, Clifton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005612033 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hughes Hardwood International, Inc., Collinwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007191706 (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 Wayne 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 Wayne 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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