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Franklin County, Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Franklin County is 151.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Melanoma of the skin deaths at 1.9 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 224 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (85), Air permit holder (minor source) (50), Rail grade crossing (28). 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: 37.007, -79.8633.

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 Franklin County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	3.8	2	1.9xSignificant	2.2 to 6.4	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.9	4.6	1.28x	3.9 to 8.8	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	4.5	3.7	1.22x	2.7 to 7.2	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	28	23.8	1.18x	22.6 to 34.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	34.8	30.2	1.15x	29.5 to 40.9	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	12.7	11.3	1.12x	9.7 to 16.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	56.6	51.8	1.09x	49.8 to 64.4	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7.1	6.6	1.08x	4.8 to 10.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	151.4	143.2	1.06x	139.6 to 164	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.6	4.4	1.05x	2.6 to 7.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.7	4.8	0.98x	2.9 to 7.5	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.4	17.9	0.97x	13 to 22.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.4	13.9	0.96x	10.2 to 17.6	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	3.9	4.1	0.95x	2.3 to 6.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	425.3	453.4	0.94x	404.5 to 447	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.3	18.7	0.93x	13.8 to 21.7	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11.8	13	0.91x	7.8 to 17.1	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.5	18.5	0.89x	12.5 to 21.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	5	5.7	0.88x	3 to 8	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	5.1	6.6	0.77x	3.2 to 8.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	5.5	8.7	0.63x	3.5 to 8.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	8.8	14.5	0.61x	6 to 12.5	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 Franklin County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,173.6	9,842.6	+3%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.7	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	59.8	59.8	+0%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7.5	6.2	+20%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	108.1	96.9	+12%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	39.7	28.6	+39%	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.

Formaldehyde18.05 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.88 per million
Acetaldehyde1.8 per million
Benzene0.86 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit85
Air permit holder (minor source)50
Rail grade crossing28
Gas station (mapped facility)27
Small hazardous waste generator10
Public airport5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Heliport3
TRI reporting facility3
Hazardous waste transporter2
Airfield1
Brownfield property1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1

Highest-severity records

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

Trinity Packaging Corp, Rocky Mount
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ozone. 64,584 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2415WTRNTY9INDU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.7
Tso Of Virginia, Rocky Mount
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000343227 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Great Southern Wood - Va Inc., Rocky Mount
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Arsenic And Arsenic Compounds, Arsenic compounds, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Copper and 1 more. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 24151RCKYTNORTH (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Fleetwood Homes Of Virginia Inc 19-2, Rocky Mount
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000343218 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Tso Of Virginia, Rocky Mount
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000343227 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Tso Of Virginia, Rocky Mount
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000343227 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Ferrum Sewage Treatment Plant, Ferrum
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008997112 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Lineal Technologies Inc, Rocky Mount
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022936563 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Franklin County Landfill, Rocky Mount
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110049839109 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Tso Of Virginia, Rocky Mount
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110000343227 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Boones Mill Nah Property, Boones Mill
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007320915 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Rocky Mount Town Sewage Treatment Plant, Rocky Mount
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006623680 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Ronile Inc, Rocky Mount
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020681733 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Franklin County - Sanitary Landfill, Rocky Mount
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033635859 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Timberland Mulch & Farms, Inc, Ferrum
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070072368 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Ktll Group Llc Dba Nexhaul Trailers, Rocky Mount
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070558488 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Walkers Used Trucks And Parts, Ferrum
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070876657 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Fleetwood Homes Of Virginia Inc 19-2, Rocky Mount
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates.
TRI facility ID 24151FLTWD90WEA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Mw Manufacturers Inc, Rocky Mount
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Antimony compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region).
TRI facility ID 2415WLNLTC35STA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Franklin County - Sanitary Landfill, Rocky Mount
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110033635859 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Wirtz Wastewater Treatment Plant, Wirtz
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040145401 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Timberland Mulch & Farms, Inc, Ferrum
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110070072368 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Axton Jackson Ferry Structure 29-144 Landslide Mit, Franklin
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $641.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071662203 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Foxfire Farms & Ready Mix Services Inc, Rocky Mount
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,667.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072155784 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
M W Manufacturers Incorporated, Rocky Mount
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000913771 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3

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 Franklin 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 Franklin 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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