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Sussex County, Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Sussex County is 206.6 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 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 144 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (54), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (41), Air permit holder (minor source) (23). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 36.9125, -77.2851.

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 Sussex County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	94.8	51.8	1.83xSignificant	73.8 to 120.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	55.1	30.2	1.82xSignificant	39.4 to 75.8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	206.6	143.2	1.44xSignificant	174.6 to 243.4	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	544.9	453.4	1.2xSignificant	490.7 to 603.9	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.6	17.9	1.15x	11.5 to 35.2	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 Sussex County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,726.6	9,842.6	+19%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.2	75.3	-4%	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	113.2	96.9	+17%	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.

Formaldehyde18.65 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.97 per million
Acetaldehyde1.83 per million
Ethylene Oxide1.07 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing54
NPDES wastewater discharge permit41
Air permit holder (minor source)23
Gas station (mapped facility)12
Small hazardous waste generator3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Solar power plant1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Atlantic Waste Disposal, Waverly
Major air pollution source. Penalties $12,537.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012710290 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Atlantic Waste Disposal, Waverly
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $12,537.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012710290 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Atlantic Waste Disposal, Waverly
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $12,537.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012710290 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Murphy Brown Waverly Division Feedmill, Waverly
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017385024 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.6
Indmar Coatings Corporation, Wakefield
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020746512 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Indmar Coatings Corporation, Wakefield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020746512 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Murphy-Brown Llc Waverly Feed Mill, Waverly
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc (fume or dust), Copper And Copper Compounds, Manganese. 55 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 23890MRPHY27404 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.3
Black Swamp Regional Wwtp, Waverly
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010844499 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Stony Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant, Stony Creek
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009768028 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Sussex Schools Complex Wtp, Sussex
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012292312 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Carson-Va Sand & Gravel, Carson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070926794 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Sussex Schools Complex, Stony Creek
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015314293 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Matthews Sand & Gravel, Sussex
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,510.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071075702 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Waverly Solar Llc Phase Iii, Waverly
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $17,025.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071501150 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Waverly Solar Llc Phase Ii, Waverly
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $30,525.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071510853 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Atlantic Strategic Minerals Llc, Stony Creek
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001908534 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Abc Auto Salvage, Stony Creek
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070875948 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Spring Branch Waste Water Treatment Facility, Waverly
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010914662 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Iluka Resources Inc. (Concord), Stony Creek
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110029527493 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Hyponex Corporation, Waverly
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110061870854 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Superb Solutions For You Inc, Waverly
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072105723 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Wakefield Muni, Wakefield
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID AKQ (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/41530228 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Atlantic Waste Disposal
Landfill (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/822637288 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Atlantic Strategic Minerals Llc, Stony Creek
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110001908534 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Sussex 1 & 2 State Prisons, Waverly
EPA FRS registry ID
110070435440
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Sussex 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 Sussex 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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