TX / county FIPS 48365 / county research

Panola County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Panola County is 179.7 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 1.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 160 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (43), Rail grade crossing (37), Major air pollution source (26). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 40 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: 32.1828, -94.3114.

How this county ranks in Texas

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Panola County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	New cases	24	14.5	1.66xSignificant	16.6 to 33.8	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	28	17.9	1.56xSignificant	19.9 to 38.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	46.1	30.2	1.53xSignificant	36 to 58.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	71.6	51.8	1.38xSignificant	59 to 86.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	179.7	143.2	1.25xSignificant	159 to 202.5	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	15.2	13	1.17x	8.7 to 24.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	503.1	453.4	1.11xSignificant	467.1 to 541.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.2	18.5	0.93x	10.9 to 26	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10	11.3	0.88x	5.9 to 16.5	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	16.2	18.7	0.87x	10.7 to 23.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	11.9	13.9	0.86x	7.3 to 18.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	12.5	23.8	0.53x	7.6 to 19.9	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 Panola County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,705.4	9,842.6	+39%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.2	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	84.8	59.8	+42%	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	117.5	96.9	+21%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 40 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde29.48 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde2.48 per million
Benzidine2.46 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit43
Rail grade crossing37
Major air pollution source26
Gas station (mapped facility)16
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
Air permit holder (minor source)6
Large greenhouse gas emitter6
TRI reporting facility6
Hazardous waste transporter5
Small hazardous waste generator2
Public airport1
Brownfield property1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Industrial wastewater discharge1
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.

Louisiana Pacific Corp Carthage Osb Plant, Carthage
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Formaldehyde, Acetaldehyde, Acrolein and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 286,721 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 75633LSNPC1199C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
East Texas Gas Plant, Carthage
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Benzene, Formaldehyde, Toluene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 89,024 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7563WSTTXS2628U (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Bulldog Gas Plant, Carthage
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Benzene. Reports carcinogens. 37,066 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7563WBLLDG48PR8 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Panola Ii Gas Plant, Carthage
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Benzene, Ethylene glycol. Reports carcinogens. 4,994 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7563WPNLGS2539C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Carthage Gas Plant, Carthage
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, n-Hexane, Benzene, Ethylene glycol. Reports carcinogens. 3,116 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7563WCRTHG356FM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
East Texas Gas Plant, Carthage
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $19,125.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000502858 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Louisiana-Pacific Carthage Osb Plant, Carthage
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000598862 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.2
Bulldog Gas Plant, Carthage
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070813460 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Sharps Environmental Service, Carthage
Major air pollution source. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024420606 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Panola Ii Gas Plant, Carthage
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110062085924 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Carthage Gas Plant, Carthage
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110023010178 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Tyson Poultry Inc. - Carthage Tx Processing Plant, Carthage
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Peracetic acid. 1,260 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 75633TYSNF800EL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.4
East Texas Gas Plant, Carthage
Major air pollution source. Penalties $19,125.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000502858 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
South Deadwood Compressor Station, Antioch
Major air pollution source. Penalties $17,100.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061079997 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
City Of Carthage Wtr & Swr, Carthage
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005147858 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Tyson Foods Carthage, Carthage
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000756281 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
East Texas Gas Plant, Carthage
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $19,125.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000502858 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Louisiana-Pacific Carthage Osb Plant, Carthage
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000598862 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
George Gray Plant, Carthage
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007181888 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Mitchell Compressor Station, Carthage
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007182306 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Central Compressor Station, Carthage
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007198424 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Jb Wood Compressor Station, Carthage
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007198433 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Latex Compressor Station, Carthage
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007203604 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Champlin Compressor Sta, Carthage
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007206022 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Xto Energy Carthage Compressor Station 1, Carthage
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017384132 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5

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 Panola County

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

Scan an address in Panola County View on the heat map All Texas counties