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Richmond County, Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Richmond County is 175.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 69 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (29), Air permit holder (minor source) (19), Correctional facility (prison or jail) (4). 4 correctional facilities operate in the county, at least one with health-based drinking water violations on record. 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: 37.9603, -76.7341.

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 Richmond County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	25.2	17.9	1.41x	14.4 to 42.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	30.6	23.8	1.29x	18.6 to 48.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	175.7	143.2	1.23xSignificant	145.5 to 211.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	62.8	51.8	1.21x	45.8 to 85.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	33.8	30.2	1.12x	22.1 to 51.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	479.1	453.4	1.06x	426.3 to 537.6	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 Richmond County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,751.6	9,842.6	-11%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.4	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	101.7	96.9	+5%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde18.7 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.98 per million
Acetaldehyde1.76 per million
Ethylene Oxide1.06 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit29
Air permit holder (minor source)19
Correctional facility (prison or jail)4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Public airport3
Gas station (mapped facility)3
TRI reporting facility3
Major air pollution source1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large hazardous waste generator1
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.

River Pools & Spas, Warsaw
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate. Reports carcinogens. 124,204 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2257WRVRPL196SE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Stella-Jones Corp, Warsaw
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Arsenic And Arsenic Compounds, Copper And Copper Compounds, Copper compounds. Reports carcinogens. 356 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 22572WDPRSROUTE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Wood Preservers Inc, Warsaw
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000913012 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Dominion - Northern Neck Combustion Turbine Statio, Warsaw
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, n-Hexane, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 2257WDMNNN819IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Quarles Fuels - Warsaw Oil Plant, Warsaw
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Cyclohexane, Ethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 2257WQPWRS11549 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Northern Neck, Warsaw
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 3800 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Northern Neck Power Station, Warsaw
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020680137 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Qpi Warsaw Bulk Plant, Warsaw
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070067947 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Wood Preservers Inc, Warsaw
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000913012 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Lee Hy Construction Llc - Warsaw Plant 1, Warsaw
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070877157 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Northern Neck Electric Cooperative, Warsaw
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006848000 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Mary Mother Of The Church Abbey Stp, Richmond
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010916241 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Bookers Mill Solar Part 1, Farnham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $84,234.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071503481 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Moon Corner Solar, Farnham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $47,165.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071528133 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Cerulean Solar, Farnham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $43,863.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071541481 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Self I Solar Project, Richmond County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $27,411.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071727754 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Wood Preservers Inc, Warsaw
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000913012 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Warsaw Wastewater Treatment Plant, Warsaw
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010916152 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Haynesville Correctional Center-Hypo/Corrosion Control, Haynesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007325251 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Wood Preservers Inc, Warsaw
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110000913012 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Haynesville Correctional Center-Hypo/Corrosion Control, Haynesville
Correctional facility (prison or jail).
EPA FRS registry ID 110007325251 (U.S. EPA ECHO + SDWIS) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Haynesville Correctional Center-Hypo/Corrosion Control, Haynesville
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110007325251 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Northern Neck Power Station, Warsaw
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020680137 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Helena Chemical Company, Warsaw
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061064422 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Iemu-Haynesville Correctional Center, Haynesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070080569 (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.

Haynesville Correctional Center-Hypo/Corrosion Control, Haynesville
EPA FRS registry ID
110007325251
Water system
VA4159200
Health-based violations
0 all time, 0 in 5 years
All violations
2
Wastewater permit
Yes, 3 quarters in noncompliance
EPA detailed facility report
Caroline Correctional Unit #2-Hypochlorination And Corrosion Control, Haynesville
EPA FRS registry ID
110012820180
Water system
VA6033150
Health-based violations
5 all time, 0 in 5 years
All violations
10
Contaminants cited
Coliform (TCR)
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Haynesville Correctional Center, Haynesville
EPA FRS registry ID
110021018147
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Iemu-Haynesville Correctional Center, Haynesville
EPA FRS registry ID
110070080569
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Richmond 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 Richmond 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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