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Grayson County, Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Grayson County is 167.1 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 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 71 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (26), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (25), Gas station (mapped facility) (11). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 36.6823, -81.2365.

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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 Grayson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	43	30.2	1.42xSignificant	32.8 to 56.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.4	17.9	1.25x	14 to 34.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	17.3	13.9	1.24x	10.7 to 27.6	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	167.1	143.2	1.17xSignificant	145.4 to 192	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	56.9	51.8	1.1x	44.9 to 72.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.9	11.3	1.05x	6.6 to 21.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	438.5	453.4	0.97x	400.2 to 480.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	15.5	18.7	0.83x	9.2 to 25.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	18.5	23.8	0.78x	11.5 to 29.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	13.2	18.5	0.71x	7.4 to 23	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 Grayson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,844.7	9,842.6	+0%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.6	75.3	-1%	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	81.4	96.9	-16%	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.

Formaldehyde14.37 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.74 per million
Acetaldehyde1.28 per million
Benzene0.61 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Air permit holder (minor source)26
NPDES wastewater discharge permit25
Gas station (mapped facility)11
Small hazardous waste generator3
Brownfield property2
Public airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Hydroelectric 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.

Oak Hill Academy Stp, Mouth Of Wilson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,074.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001887209 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Oak Hill Academy Stp, Mouth Of Wilson
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $5,074.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001887209 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Galax Wastewater Treatment Facility, Galax
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013724791 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Mt Rogers School, Whitetop
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071975273 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Grayson Garment, Independence
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976367 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Virginia Carolina Membrane Filtration Plant, Independence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070529047 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Independence Stp, Independence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009768091 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Fries Hydropower Dam Power Canal Rehabilitation, Fries
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056978926 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Virginia Carolina Concrete, Mouth Of Wilson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001889993 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Woodgrain Inc, Independence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020046252 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Deer Creek Motorcoach Resort Wwtp, Galax
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039022278 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Patton Sand And Concrete Llc, Galax
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070619329 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Riegel Textile Corp, Fries
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008188433 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lilly Inds Galax Inc, Galax
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008200918 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Town Of Fries Wwtp, Fries
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009767797 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Appalachian Aggregates Llc - Mouth Of Wilson, Mouth Of Wilson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020582289 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Blue Spruce Cleaners, Independence
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020684035 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
C And B Lumber Inc, Fries
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043702776 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Grayson County High School Football Field Turf Con, Independence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064211589 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cardinal Stone Co - Galax Quarry, Galax
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064211650 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Link Street Developers Llc, Independence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070596706 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Samuels Taylor H Residence Stp, Galax
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070599331 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Gray Servicenter Inc, Galax
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070874488 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Grayson County Development Authority Future Indust, Independence
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071506731 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Turkey Knob Church, Fries
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071512003 (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.

River North Correctional Center, Independence
EPA FRS registry ID
110071423305
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Grayson 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 Grayson 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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