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Norfolk city, Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Norfolk city is 170.6 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 1.3 times the U.S. rate and Pancreas deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 578 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (155), Air permit holder (minor source) (107), Small hazardous waste generator (92). 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: 36.8944, -76.2541.

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 Norfolk city compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.5	3.4	1.32x	3.4 to 6	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	3.5	2.7	1.3x	2.5 to 4.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	67.1	51.8	1.3xSignificant	62.4 to 72	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	39.1	30.2	1.29xSignificant	35.5 to 42.9	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	14.6	11.3	1.29xSignificant	12.5 to 17.1	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	4.5	3.7	1.22x	3.4 to 5.9	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	170.6	143.2	1.19xSignificant	163 to 178.6	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	16.5	13.9	1.19xSignificant	14.1 to 19	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.5	5.7	1.14x	5 to 8.2	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	7.2	6.6	1.09x	5.7 to 9.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	19.4	17.9	1.08x	16.9 to 22.1	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.4	4.1	1.07x	3.2 to 5.8	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	4.8	4.6	1.04x	3.6 to 6.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.6	6.6	1x	5.2 to 8.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	447	453.4	0.99x	434.6 to 459.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.5	8.7	0.98x	6.9 to 10.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	17.2	18.7	0.92x	14.8 to 19.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.8	23.8	0.92x	19.1 to 24.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.1	18.5	0.87x	13.8 to 18.7	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	14.1	16.4	0.86x	9.4 to 20.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.1	4.8	0.85x	3 to 5.5	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	1.5	2	0.75x	0.9 to 2.4	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	4.6	6.2	0.74x	3.4 to 6.1	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	10.5	14.5	0.72x	8.7 to 12.7	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	2.7	4.4	0.61x	1.8 to 3.9	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	7.5	13	0.58x	5.9 to 9.2	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 Norfolk city
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,579.1	9,842.6	+18%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.3	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	86.7	59.8	+45%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8.5	6.2	+38%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	96.8	96.9	-0%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	43.2	28.6	+51%	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.

Formaldehyde18.9 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.97 per million
Acetaldehyde1.57 per million
Benzene1.34 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 363 days: 312 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 33, peak 94.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit155
Air permit holder (minor source)107
Small hazardous waste generator92
Gas station (mapped facility)68
Rail grade crossing67
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)14
Brownfield property14
Large hazardous waste generator13
Major air pollution source9
Hazardous waste transporter7
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)7
TRI reporting facility5
Commercial airport3
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)3
Heliport3
EPA air quality monitor1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Solar power plant1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

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

Norfolk Naval Base (Sewells Point Naval Complex), Norfolk
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID VA6170061463 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $12,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070828225 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.3
Bae Systems Norfolk Ship Repair, Norfolk
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Butyl alcohol, Copper And Copper Compounds, Zinc compounds, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 50,035 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 23501NRFLKFOOTO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Colonnas Shipyard Inc, Norfolk
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $9,972.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000342193 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk
Major air pollution source. Penalties $12,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070828225 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Us Navy Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Naphthalene, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 4,802 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 23511NVLBS1530G (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $12,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070828225 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $12,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070828225 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Colonna'S Shipyard Inc, Norfolk
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Butyl alcohol, Copper. 136,865 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 23523CLNNS400EI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Capital Concrete Inc., Norfolk
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1,049 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2350WCPTLC4STAP (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Lyon Shipyard, Incorporated, Norfolk
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001910512 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Bae Systems Maritime Solutions Norfolk, Norfolk
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000342175 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.1
Lyon Shipyard, Incorporated, Norfolk
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001910512 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Lyon Shipyard, Incorporated, Norfolk
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001910512 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Tcs Materials Llc, Vulcan Materials Co - Norfolk Plant, Norfolk
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001890632 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
Titan Virginia Ready-Mix Llc-Campostella Plant, Norfolk
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Lead. Reports carcinogens. 29 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2350WTTNVR2125K (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Colonnas Shipyard Inc, Norfolk
Major air pollution source. Penalties $9,972.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000342193 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
General Dynamics Nassco-Norfolk, Norfolk
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000826722 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Colonnas Shipyard Inc, Norfolk
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $9,972.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000342193 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Colonnas Shipyard Inc, Norfolk
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $9,972.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000342193 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
General Dynamics Nassco-Norfolk, Norfolk
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000826722 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
General Dynamics Nassco-Norfolk, Norfolk
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000826722 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk
Hazardous waste transporter. Penalties $12,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070828225 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Norfolk Intl, Norfolk
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID ORF (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Titan Virginia Ready-Mix Llc -Campostella Plant, Norfolk
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001889145 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.9

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 Norfolk city

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 Norfolk city, 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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