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Highland County, Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Highland County is 107.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 36 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (19), Air permit holder (minor source) (7), Gas station (mapped facility) (3). 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: 38.3859, -79.5178.

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 Highland County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	71.8	51.8	1.39x	34.1 to 143	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	417	453.4	0.92x	313.4 to 550	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	107.8	143.2	0.75x	69.2 to 173.3	2020-2024

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 Highland County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,675.6	9,842.6	-2%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78.9	75.3	+5%	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	n/a	96.9	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde12.21 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.73 per million
Acetaldehyde1.06 per million
Benzene0.6 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit19
Air permit holder (minor source)7
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Rail grade crossing2
Public airport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Oil-fired 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.

Monterey Diesel Generation Facility, Monterey
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 59614 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Monterey, Town Of-Well 3 Chlorination, Monterey
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010916438 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Highland County Landfill and Animal Control
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/654837157 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Laurel Hill Trout Farm - North Monterey, Monterey
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015313908 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Laurel Hill Trout Farm - South Monterey, Monterey
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020145886 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Carson Keith And Paulien Newlon Residence, Blue Grass
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070596740 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hise Andrew And Gloria Residence, Monterey
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070598160 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Alford Derek And Kathryn Residence, Monterey
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070599235 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kline Michael And Rebecca Residence, Mcdowell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070599768 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Brumfield Audie And Paula Residence, Headwaters
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070600195 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Simmons Wilton L And Carl Stuart Residence, Blue Grass
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070601437 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lambert Chris And Rhonda Residence, Monterey
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070601645 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hanley Steve J Residence, Blue Grass
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070603271 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Westrock Virginia Llc-Highland Woodyard, Monterey
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070876736 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Weiss Summer L And April C Residence, Doe Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071252923 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
David Heatwole Poultry House, Mcdowell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071499740 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rodney Heatwole Poultry, Mcdowell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071514326 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mcdowell Mennonite Church, Mcdowell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071514564 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Atlantic Coast Pipeline Restoration Virginia, Monterey
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071525081 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Vdot - Lexington - 0220-045-745 - Upc 117022, Highland County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072105120 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Vdot - Lexington Â 0640-045-744 - Upc 117021, Highland County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072161013 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Highland High School, Monterey
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110007325091 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Shumate, Jeff, Mcdowell
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110014339028 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Hiner'S Auto Service, Virginia
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110038440185 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1
Fast Break Food Mart, Virginia
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110040485686 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1

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 Highland 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 Highland 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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