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Rockbridge County, Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Rockbridge County is 136.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 241 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (93), Rail grade crossing (66), Gas station (mapped facility) (28). 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: 37.8098, -79.4409.

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 Rockbridge County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	New cases	24.1	18.7	1.29x	17.2 to 33.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	18.3	14.5	1.26x	11.3 to 28.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	34.8	30.2	1.15x	27 to 44.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	59.1	51.8	1.14x	48.5 to 71.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.5	23.8	1.03x	16.5 to 35.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	435.9	453.4	0.96x	403.7 to 470.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	136.3	143.2	0.95x	120.1 to 154.6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	13.4	17.9	0.75x	8.8 to 20.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	8.1	11.3	0.72x	4.7 to 14	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	8.7	13.9	0.63x	5.2 to 14.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	11.2	18.5	0.61x	7 to 17.8	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 Rockbridge County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,445.9	9,842.6	+6%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.2	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	61.5	59.8	+3%	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	89.1	96.9	-8%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	17.6	28.6	-38%	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.

Formaldehyde16.64 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.85 per million
Acetaldehyde1.6 per million
Benzene0.8 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 264 days: 248 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 36, peak 67.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit93
Rail grade crossing66
Gas station (mapped facility)28
Air permit holder (minor source)25
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)9
Small hazardous waste generator6
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Public airport2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
TRI reporting facility2
Major air pollution source1
EPA air quality monitor1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)1

Highest-severity records

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

Burke-Parsons-Bowlby, Goshen
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $5,448.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000585689 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Stella Jones Corp-Goshen Facility, Goshen
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Creosote, Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Copper compounds. Reports carcinogens. 35,332 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 24439THBRKSTATE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Munters Corp, Natural Bridge Station
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Manganese, Nickel, Zinc compounds. Reports carcinogens. 11 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2457WMNTRS43DUG (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.3
Burke-Parsons-Bowlby, Goshen
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $5,448.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000585689 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Aladdin Manufacturing - Glasgow Facility, Glasgow
Major air pollution source. Penalties $24,652.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002083922 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Modine Manufacturing Company - Lexington, Lexington
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071179961 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.6
Aladdin Manufacturing - Glasgow Facility, Glasgow
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $24,652.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002083922 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Burke-Parsons-Bowlby, Goshen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,448.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000585689 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Aladdin Manufacturing - Glasgow Facility, Glasgow
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $24,652.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002083922 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Rockbridge Rivermont School, Fairfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,723.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016620398 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Virginia Safari Park-Uv Disinfection, Natural Bridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110052972048 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Southers Auto Salvage Llc, Buena Vista
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070876959 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Modine Manufacturing Co, Lexington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2445WMDNMN36CLL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.3
Burke-Parsons-Bowlby, Goshen
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $5,448.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000585689 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Lexington-Rockbridge Regional Wqcf, Lexington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006179553 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Town Of Glasgow Wwtp, Glasgow
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009116429 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Cw Barger Operations Llc, Lexington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020668810 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Natural Bridge Of Virginia, Natural Bridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012686511 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Cw Barger Operations Llc, Lexington
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110020668810 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Saint Anthony, Natural Bridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070597667 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Boxerwood Gardens, Lexington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070604265 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Blue Ridge Resource Authority Landfill, Buena Vista
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070874571 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Rockingham Redi-Mix Inc - Lexington, Lexington
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $6,880.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001905993 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Pilot-4649, Raphine
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006683972 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Ingleside Trout Farm, Lexington
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015313917 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2

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 Rockbridge 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 Rockbridge 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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