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Giles County, Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Giles County is 186 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 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 154 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (55), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (28), Gas station (mapped facility) (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: 37.3136, -80.6697.

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 Giles County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	49	30.2	1.62xSignificant	38 to 63	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	27.9	18.7	1.49xSignificant	19.3 to 39.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	186	143.2	1.3xSignificant	162.7 to 212.2	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	30.3	23.8	1.27x	20.6 to 43.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	61.5	51.8	1.19x	49.3 to 76.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	463	453.4	1.02x	424.7 to 504.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.5	18.5	0.78x	8.8 to 23.4	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 Giles County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,049.2	9,842.6	+22%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.2	75.3	-4%	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	112.9	96.9	+16%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	30.2	28.6	+6%	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.

Formaldehyde15.38 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.78 per million
Acetaldehyde1.42 per million
Benzene0.73 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 357 days: 337 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 37, peak 80.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing55
NPDES wastewater discharge permit28
Gas station (mapped facility)20
Air permit holder (minor source)17
Brownfield property10
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Small hazardous waste generator3
Major air pollution source2
EPA air quality monitor2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Large hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
Gas power plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Celanese Acetate Llc Plant, Narrows
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $9,261.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056966948 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.3
Celanese Acetate Llc - Celco Plant, Narrows
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Cyclohexane, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia, Dichloromethane and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,764,869 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 24124HCHSTRT460 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.3
Apg Lime Corp Kimballton Plant 2, Ripplemead
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $14,007.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020671450 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.2
Apg Lime Corp Kimballton Plant 2, Ripplemead
Major air pollution source. Penalties $14,007.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020671450 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Lhoist Na Of Virginia Inc Kimballton Area 1, Ripplemead
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Lead compounds, Zinc compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds and 1 more. 237,002 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 24150CHMCL2093B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Apg Lime Corp Kimballton Plant 2, Ripplemead
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $14,007.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020671450 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Celanese Acetate Llc Plant, Narrows
Major air pollution source. Penalties $9,261.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056966948 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Celanese Acetate Llc Plant, Narrows
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $9,261.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056966948 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Celanese Acetate Llc Plant, Narrows
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $9,261.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056966948 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Celanese Acetate Llc Plant, Narrows
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $9,261.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056966948 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Pembroke Town - Sewage Treatment Plant, Pembroke
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010912968 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Aep Glen Lyn Power Plant, Glen Lyn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000585518 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Giles County Public Service Authority Wtp, Pearisburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010134951 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Celanese Acetate Llc, Narrows
Gas power plant.
Record ID 52089 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3
131 Center Street, Narrows
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976789 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
137 Center Street, Narrows
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976790 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
200 Hare Street, Narrows
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976791 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
206 Hare Street, Narrows
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976792 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
214 Main Street, Narrows
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976793 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
216 Main Street, Narrows
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976794 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
415 Main Street, Narrows
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976796 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
475 Belair Street, Narrows
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976798 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Pearisburg Tannery Site, Pearisburg
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981843 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Social Services Building, Pembroke
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985122 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Degs Of Narrows Llc, Narrows
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000343147 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 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 Giles 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 Giles 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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