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Alleghany County, Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Alleghany County is 164.5 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Non-Hodgkin lymphoma deaths at 2.3 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 119 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (35), Air permit holder (minor source) (26), Rail grade crossing (20). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 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: 37.7786, -80.1071.

How this county ranks in Virginia

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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 Alleghany County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	10.9	4.8	2.27xSignificant	6.2 to 19.4	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	51.2	30.2	1.7xSignificant	39.8 to 65.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	78.8	51.8	1.52xSignificant	64.4 to 96.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	20.5	13.9	1.47x	12.8 to 32.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.4	17.9	1.31x	14.7 to 36	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	14.3	11.3	1.27x	8.8 to 23.5	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	28	23.8	1.18x	18.9 to 40.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.4	18.5	1.16x	13.3 to 33.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	164.5	143.2	1.15x	143.1 to 189	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	455.1	453.4	1x	415.7 to 497.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	12.5	18.7	0.67x	7.3 to 21.3	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 Alleghany County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,094.6	9,842.6	+23%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.1	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	111.7	96.9	+15%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	31.4	28.6	+10%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde15.09 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.82 per million
Acetaldehyde1.46 per million
Benzene0.74 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit35
Air permit holder (minor source)26
Rail grade crossing20
Gas station (mapped facility)11
Brownfield property9
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
Small hazardous waste generator3
Public airport2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Major air pollution source1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Biomass power plant1
Oil-fired power plant1
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.

Kim-Stan Landfill, Selma
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID VAD077923449 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Low Moor Ct Station, Covington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 2442WLWMRC9319R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Quarles Petroleum Inc. Covington Bulk Plant, Covington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Ethylbenzene, Benzene, Toluene and 2 more. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 2442WQRLSP9314W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Bennett Logging & Lumber Inc, Selma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070877262 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Low Moor, Covington
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 3799 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Dominion - Low Moor Ct Station, Low Moor
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038099991 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Alleghany Co - Lower Jackson River Regional Wwtp, Iron Gate
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039922493 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Peters Mountain Landfill, Covington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070874676 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Alleghany Co Public Works Garage, Clifton Forge
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071968112 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Jefferson School, Clifton Forge
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977235 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Howard Site, Clifton Forge
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977236 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
100 Kemper Drive, Covington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977846 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Cat & Owl Restaurant, Covington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071982309 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Low Moor Medical Lot, Covington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983271 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Ponderosa Truck Stop, Clifton Forge
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983280 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Iron Gate School, Iron Gate
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071984195 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Clifton Forge High School & Memorial Park, Clifton Forge
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071984399 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Covington Facility, Covington
Biomass power plant.
Record ID 50900 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 2.7
Alleghany County - Low Moor Wwtp, Low Moor
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010916045 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Peters Mountain Landfill
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1242493628 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/340806290 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Clifton Forge Water Treatment Plant, Clifton Forge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010917179 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Martin Marietta Materials Inc, Low Moor
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020672565 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Alleghany Regional Hospital, Low Moor
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020682885 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Meadwestvaco Of Va Corp Converting Plant, Low Moor
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008201579 (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 Alleghany County

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