VA / county FIPS 51775 / county research

Salem city, Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Salem city is 182.6 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 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 209 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Air permit holder (minor source) (55), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (41), Rail grade crossing (32). 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: 37.2877, -80.071.

How this county ranks in Virginia

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Salem city compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	10.6	4.6	2.3xSignificant	6.5 to 16.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41.2	30.2	1.36xSignificant	32.5 to 51.8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	182.6	143.2	1.28xSignificant	163.1 to 204.1	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	12.3	11.3	1.09x	7.5 to 19.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	15.1	13.9	1.09x	9.4 to 23	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	25.6	23.8	1.08x	18.3 to 35.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	53.6	51.8	1.03x	43.3 to 65.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	455.6	453.4	1x	423.3 to 489.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.6	8.7	0.99x	5 to 14.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.8	18.5	0.96x	12.1 to 25.7	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	14.4	17.9	0.8x	9.3 to 21.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	14.4	18.7	0.77x	9.4 to 21.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	10	14.5	0.69x	5.6 to 16.8	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 Salem city
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,541	9,842.6	+7%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.2	75.3	-3%	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	122.7	96.9	+27%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	52.5	28.6	+83%	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.

Formaldehyde17.92 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.84 per million
Acetaldehyde1.66 per million
Benzene1.07 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 113 days: 90 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 31, peak 76.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Air permit holder (minor source)55
NPDES wastewater discharge permit41
Rail grade crossing32
Small hazardous waste generator28
Gas station (mapped facility)16
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)12
TRI reporting facility11
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Oil-fired power plant3
Major air pollution source2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Heliport2
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1

Highest-severity records

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

New Millennium Building Systems, Salem
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Manganese, Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 215,491 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 24153JHNWH2535D (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.6
Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Virginia Llc, Salem
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Lead compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene. Reports carcinogens. 14,226 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 24153MHWKR1500I (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Lake Region Medical Inc, Salem
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Trichloroethylene, Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Nitric acid. Reports carcinogens. 8,022 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 24153NBLMT200SY (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Virginia, Llc, Salem
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $23,310.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000343290 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
New Millennium Building Systems, Salem
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058159406 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Concrete Pipe & Precast Llc-Salem #1 Plant, Salem
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 66 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 24153HNSNP2SALE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.9
Boxley Salem Asphalt Plant, Salem
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens. 8 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2415WBXLYS211SA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Virginia, Llc, Salem
Major air pollution source. Penalties $23,310.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000343290 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Hanson Pipe & Products Inc Salem Plant, Salem
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020059005 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Graham White Mfg Co, Salem
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005218175 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.7
Graham-White Manufacturing Co., Salem
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper. 120 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 24153GRHMW1242C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
Kik (Virginia) Inc, Salem
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000343307 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Accellent, Salem
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001906108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Salem High School, Salem
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 517750011 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 4.2
Salem Water Plant, Salem
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 56288 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Salem Street Dept, Salem
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 56289 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Salem Electric Department, Salem
Oil-fired power plant.
Record ID 56519 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 4
Qualichem, Inc., Salem
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010717260 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Novozymes Biologicals, Inc., Salem
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024552376 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Novozymes Biologicals Inc - 528 Chapman Street, Salem
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024552394 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Noble-Met Llc A Subsidiary Of Lake Region Medical, Salem
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070135349 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Qualichem Inc., Salem
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070239250 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Kik (Virginia) Llc, Salem
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chlorine, Ammonia. 4 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 24153THDLC27MIL (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.5
New Millennium Building Systems, Salem
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001888191 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Accellent, Salem
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001906108 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3

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 Salem 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 Salem 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.

Scan an address in Salem city View on the heat map All Virginia counties