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Halifax County, Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Halifax County is 188.9 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 369 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (159), Rail grade crossing (64), Air permit holder (minor source) (53). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 36.7995, -78.9188.

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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 Halifax County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6.9	4.8	1.44x	4 to 11.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	15.7	11.3	1.39x	11 to 22	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41.1	30.2	1.36xSignificant	34.2 to 49.3	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	188.9	143.2	1.32xSignificant	172.8 to 206.3	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	17.4	13.9	1.25x	12.4 to 24.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.6	5.7	1.16x	4 to 10.7	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.7	6.6	1.02x	4.2 to 10.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	51.6	51.8	1x	43.6 to 61.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.6	17.9	0.93x	11.7 to 23.1	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	404.8	453.4	0.89x	379.1 to 432	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6.8	8.7	0.78x	4.2 to 10.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	10.9	14.5	0.75x	6.7 to 16.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	13.1	18.7	0.7x	9.3 to 18.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	12.3	18.5	0.66x	8.4 to 17.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	14.7	23.8	0.62x	9.8 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 Halifax County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,970.7	9,842.6	+42%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.1	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	93.3	59.8	+56%	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	122.5	96.9	+26%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	47.5	28.6	+66%	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.

Formaldehyde20.52 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde2.19 per million
Benzene0.92 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit159
Rail grade crossing64
Air permit holder (minor source)53
Brownfield property22
Gas station (mapped facility)19
Small hazardous waste generator12
Public airport5
Large hazardous waste generator5
TRI reporting facility5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Major air pollution source4
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Hazardous waste transporter2
Heliport2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Biomass power plant1
Coal power plant1
Hydroelectric plant1
Solar 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.

Aquatic Co, South Boston
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate. Reports carcinogens. 803,183 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 24592PHLPSPOBOX (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9
Clover Power Station, Clover
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Barium And Barium Compounds, Vanadium compounds, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 693,752 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 24534CLVRPRTE92 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9
Huber Engineered Woods Llc, Crystal Hill
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Phenol, Acrolein, Formaldehyde and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 464,123 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 24539JMHBRRT3HW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Hitachi Energy Usa Inc., South Boston
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Copper, Manganese, Chromium and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 13,659 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 24592WSTNGHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Huber Engineered Woods Llc, Crystal Hill
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $4,752.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000343977 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Dominion Clover Power Station, Clover
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007008175 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.2
Clover, Clover
Coal power plant.
Record ID 7213 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6.9
Aquatic Company, South Boston
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000344075 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Abb Inc, South Boston
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000344100 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Maple Avenue Waste Water Treatment Plant, South Boston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,736.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000561516 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Voestalpine High Performance Metals - South Boston Plant, South Boston
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Nickel, Cobalt, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 40 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 24592CKCMPSTATE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Bohler Uddeholm Specialty Metals Inc, South Boston
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000620230 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Huber Engineered Woods Llc, Crystal Hill
Major air pollution source. Penalties $4,752.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000343977 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Dominion Clover Power Station, Clover
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007008175 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Huber Engineered Woods Llc, Crystal Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,752.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000343977 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Aquatic Company, South Boston
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000344075 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Maple Avenue Waste Water Treatment Plant, South Boston
Hazardous waste transporter. Penalties $2,736.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000561516 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Dominion Clover Power Station, Clover
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007008175 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Aquatic Company, South Boston
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000344075 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Aquatic Company, South Boston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000344075 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Novec Energy Production Halifax County Biomass, South Boston
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041889873 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Former Daystrom Furniture Facility, South Boston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043635386 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Halifax Elementary School Ballfields Site, Halifax
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973144 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Kurz Kasch Site, South Boston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973246 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Jps Carter Fabrics Plant, South Boston
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974133 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) 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.

Halifax Correctional Unit 23, South Boston
EPA FRS registry ID
110005289106
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Halifax 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 Halifax 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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