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Shenandoah County, Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Shenandoah County is 173.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Leukemia deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 506 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (270), Rail grade crossing (90), Air permit holder (minor source) (62). 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: 38.8544, -78.5863.

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 Shenandoah County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Leukemia	Deaths	9.3	5.7	1.63xSignificant	6.1 to 13.8	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.6	6.6	1.3x	5.8 to 12.4	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.8	4.6	1.26x	3.6 to 9.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13.8	11.3	1.22x	10.1 to 18.5	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	173.7	143.2	1.21xSignificant	159.6 to 188.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	35.4	30.2	1.17x	29.5 to 42.4	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.7	4.4	1.07x	2.6 to 8.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	18.7	17.9	1.04x	13.9 to 24.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.6	23.8	1.03x	19.3 to 31.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.7	14.5	1.01x	10.3 to 20.5	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	6.5	6.6	0.98x	3.9 to 10.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.1	18.5	0.98x	13.9 to 23.5	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	12.7	13	0.98x	8.3 to 18.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	49.8	51.8	0.96x	42.5 to 58.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	422.2	453.4	0.93x	399.2 to 446.3	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.7	6.2	0.92x	3.2 to 9.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.9	8.7	0.91x	5.3 to 11.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.6	13.9	0.91x	9.1 to 17.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	15.2	18.7	0.81x	11.3 to 20.2	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 Shenandoah County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,072.2	9,842.6	-18%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.6	75.3	+2%	years
Child mortality	39.3	59.8	-34%	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	86.5	96.9	-11%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	21.7	28.6	-24%	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.

Formaldehyde16.84 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde1.6 per million
Benzene1.08 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit270
Rail grade crossing90
Air permit holder (minor source)62
Gas station (mapped facility)38
Public airport8
Small hazardous waste generator7
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Major air pollution source4
TRI reporting facility4
Brownfield property3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Solar 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.

Merillat Corporation, Mount Jackson
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $71,374.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000341407 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.8
Cabinetworks Group - Mount Jackson Plant, Mount Jackson
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Butyl alcohol, Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene, Toluene and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 261,712 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 22842MRLLTSTATE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
New Market Poultry Llc, New Market
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $5,695.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010596408 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.3
George'S Chicken, Llc, Edinburg
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $14,531.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000562766 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.7
New Market Poultry Llc, New Market
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution). 873,090 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2284WNWMRK145LD (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
George'S Chicken Llc, Edinburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Ammonia, Peracetic acid, Certain glycol ethers. 289,620 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 22824RCCFRRTE42 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Merillat Corporation, Mount Jackson
Major air pollution source. Penalties $71,374.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000341407 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Merillat Corporation, Mount Jackson
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $71,374.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000341407 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Merillat Corporation, Mount Jackson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $71,374.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000341407 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Howell Metal Co, New Market
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $8,823.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000341425 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Town Of Woodstock Stp, Woodstock
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010843819 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Mount Jackson Wwtp, Mount Jackson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $17,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008997167 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Carmeuse Lime And Stone - Strsburg, Strasburg
Major air pollution source. Penalties $30,932.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038160021 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Carmeuse Lime And Stone - Strsburg, Strasburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $30,932.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038160021 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Carmeuse Lime And Stone - Strsburg, Strasburg
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $30,932.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038160021 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Iac Strasburg Llc, Strasburg
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000341210 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Columbia Gas Transmission Corp - Strasburg Com Sta, Strasburg
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020668785 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Howell Metal Co, New Market
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper. 3 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 22844HWLLM574DE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.5
Shenandoah County Landfill - Edinburg, Edinburg
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005289357 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
New Market Poultry Llc, New Market
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,695.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010596408 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
5973 King Street Property, Mount Jackson
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071982797 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Hospital Building, Woodstock
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985724 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
New Market Community Center, New Market
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071985726 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Valley Milk Products, Strasburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $24,024.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000341194 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Iac Strasburg Llc, Strasburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000341210 (U.S. EPA ECHO) 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.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Shenandoah 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 Shenandoah 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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