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Russell County, Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Russell County is 186.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Bladder deaths at 2.1 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 312 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (139), Rail grade crossing (65), Air permit holder (minor source) (55). One correctional facility operates 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 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: 36.9262, -82.0746.

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 Russell County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	Deaths	8.7	4.1	2.12xSignificant	5.3 to 14.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	39.9	30.2	1.32xSignificant	32 to 49.5	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	186.2	143.2	1.3xSignificant	167.2 to 206.9	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.5	6.6	1.29x	4.9 to 14.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	56.8	51.8	1.1x	47.1 to 68.5	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	13.7	13	1.05x	7.8 to 22.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.7	11.3	1.04x	7.4 to 17.9	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.7	18.5	1.01x	12.6 to 27	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.9	17.9	1x	12 to 26.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.8	13.9	0.92x	8.1 to 19.6	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.5	18.7	0.88x	11.1 to 23.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.1	14.5	0.83x	7.3 to 19.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	371.1	453.4	0.82x	342.8 to 401.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	9.2	23.8	0.39x	5 to 15.6	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 Russell County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,093.5	9,842.6	+23%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.1	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	65.2	59.8	+9%	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	82.5	96.9	-15%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	16.7	28.6	-41%	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.

Formaldehyde16.07 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.78 per million
Acetaldehyde1.56 per million
Benzene0.81 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit139
Rail grade crossing65
Air permit holder (minor source)55
Gas station (mapped facility)21
Brownfield property8
Small hazardous waste generator7
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
TRI reporting facility2
Major air pollution source1
Public airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Gas power plant1
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.

Samuel Son & Co (Usa) Inc., Lebanon
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 417 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2426WSTLFB58SAM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Aep Clinch River Power Plant, Cleveland
Major air pollution source. Penalties $45,442.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000585581 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Tate Inc, Saint Paul
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $5,482.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071813323 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Samuel Pressure Vessel Group - Lebanon, Lebanon
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064460667 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.9
Aep Clinch River Power Plant, Cleveland
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $45,442.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000585581 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Lebanon Wwtp, Lebanon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $21,901.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010134461 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Makani And Patel Apartments Stp, Swords Creek
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070603168 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Dogtown Auto Parts, Castlewood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070876163 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Moss #2 Prep Plant, South Clinchfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070925224 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Moss #3 Preparation Plant, South Clinchfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070926141 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Flatrock Plant & Refuse, Honaker
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070927033 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Tate Inc, Saint Paul
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese. 4 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2428WTTNCX1636B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.5
Tate Inc, Saint Paul
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese. 4 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2428WTTXXX1636B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.5
Deskins Tessa Residences Stp, Honaker
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070600013 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Lankford Ratliff Residences Stp, Swords Creek
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070603511 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Jeffery Clifton Dale Business Stp, Lebanon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070604266 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Pine Creek Surface Mine #2, Dye
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070927416 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Clinch River, Cleveland
Gas power plant.
Record ID 3775 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.5
American Electric Power - Clinch River Plant, Cleveland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071711129 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Dante Depot, Dante
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974048 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Arty Lee School, Dante
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974049 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Sun Motors, Castlewood
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976430 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Dante Dry Cleaner, Dante
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071980827 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Russell County Public Service Authority Building, Castlewood
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981411 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Slate Building, Honaker
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071982292 (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.

Appalachian Detention Center, Honaker
EPA FRS registry ID
110061920827
Water system
VA1167015
Health-based violations
2 all time, 0 in 5 years
All violations
3
Contaminants cited
Coliform (TCR)
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Russell 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 Russell 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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