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Covington city, Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Covington city is 212.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 60 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (13), Brownfield property (12), Rail grade crossing (10). 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: 37.7807, -79.9888.

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 Covington city compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
All cancer	Deaths	212.4	143.2	1.48xSignificant	167.4 to 266.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41.9	30.2	1.39x	24.4 to 68.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	595	453.4	1.31xSignificant	516.3 to 683.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	65.1	51.8	1.26x	42.7 to 96.6	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 Covington city
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,933.4	9,842.6	+62%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	69.1	75.3	-8%	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	135.6	96.9	+40%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde15.97 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.82 per million
Acetaldehyde1.86 per million
Benzene0.84 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Air permit holder (minor source)13
Brownfield property12
Rail grade crossing10
NPDES wastewater discharge permit10
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Major air pollution source2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Small hazardous waste generator2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2

Highest-severity records

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

Westrock Virginia Corp, Covington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Ammonia and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 11,690,403 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 24426WSTVCRIVER (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.9
Westrock Virginia, Covington, Covington
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $3,106.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000870013 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.7
Ingevity Virginia Corp, Covington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Formic acid, Formaldehyde, Acetaldehyde and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 203,571 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2442WNGVTY958ER (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Ingevity Virginia Corporation, Covington
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070156412 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Westrock Virginia, Covington, Covington
Major air pollution source. Penalties $3,106.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000870013 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Westrock Virginia, Covington, Covington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,106.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000870013 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Covington City - Wastewater Treatment Plant, Covington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010916072 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Westrock Virginia, Covington, Covington
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $3,106.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000870013 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Ingevity Virginia Corporation, Covington
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070156412 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
300 Thacker Avenue, Covington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977859 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Oliver Distribution Site, Covington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978296 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Edgemont School, Covington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981823 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Nettleton Planing Mill Site, Covington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983259 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Rivermont School, Covington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983274 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Rail Over River Industrial Park/Aet Slab, Covington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983288 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Ritsch'S Dry Cleaners, Covington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985181 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Covington Business Complex Site, Covington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985187 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Bank, Covington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071986153 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Twentieth Century Treasures, Covington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071986155 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Peebles Department Store, Covington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071987263 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Rooklin Building, Covington
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072135833 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Materials Handling Solutions Llc, Covington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070874865 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Ingevity Virginia Corporation, Covington
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070156412 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Rail Over River Industrial Park Llc, Covington
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000555998 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rail Over River Industrial Park Llc, Covington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000555998 (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 Covington city

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 Covington city, 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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