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Tazewell County, Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Tazewell County is 181.8 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 477 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (214), Rail grade crossing (97), Air permit holder (minor source) (85). 3 correctional facilities operate in the county. 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: 37.1353, -81.6017.

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 Tazewell County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Bladder	Deaths	6.5	4.1	1.59x	4 to 10.3	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	5.8	3.7	1.57x	3.4 to 9.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	42.5	30.2	1.41xSignificant	35.5 to 50.6	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	181.8	143.2	1.27xSignificant	166.7 to 198.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	7.6	6.6	1.15x	4.9 to 11.6	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.8	4.4	1.09x	2.7 to 8.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	56.4	51.8	1.09x	48.2 to 65.8	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6	5.7	1.05x	3.6 to 9.9	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.1	8.7	1.05x	6.2 to 13.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.5	23.8	0.9x	16 to 28.4	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	5.5	6.6	0.83x	3.1 to 9.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.3	11.3	0.82x	6.2 to 13.8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	14	17.9	0.78x	9.7 to 19.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	10.4	13.9	0.75x	7.2 to 14.9	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	338.4	453.4	0.75x	316.8 to 361.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	11.4	18.7	0.61x	7.9 to 16.1	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	7.5	13	0.58x	4.1 to 12.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	9.5	18.5	0.51x	6.1 to 14.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	5.6	14.5	0.39x	3.1 to 9.5	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 Tazewell County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,250.1	9,842.6	+55%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.5	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	55.4	59.8	-7%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	8.1	6.2	+30%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	149.7	96.9	+54%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	65.7	28.6	+130%	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.

Formaldehyde14.89 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.75 per million
Acetaldehyde1.34 per million
Benzene0.79 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit214
Rail grade crossing97
Air permit holder (minor source)85
Gas station (mapped facility)37
Small hazardous waste generator13
Brownfield property9
Scrapyard (mapped facility)6
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Correctional facility (prison or jail)3
Heliport2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Quikrete - Pounding Mill Va Plant, Pounding Mill
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2463WQKRTP288QU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.6
Smith Tommy A Residence Stp, Cedar Bluff
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070602728 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Town Hill Redash Mine, Richlands
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070925303 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Coal Creek Prep Plant #3, Red Ash
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070930356 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Big Creek Surface And Highwall Mine, Jewell Ridge
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070930650 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Virginia Point Surface Mine, Horsepen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070927500 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Quikrete - Pounding Mill, Pounding Mill
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071433019 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Raven Dock, Raven
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070925207 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Tazewell Wwtp, Tazewell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010843793 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Bishop Refuse Impoundment, Bishop
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070927206 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Bluefield Westside Wwtp, Bluefield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010916376 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Richlands Regional Wwtf, Richlands
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010916599 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Berwind Deep Mine No.1, Harman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070924021 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Bluefield Iron &Amp; Metal, Bluefield
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001894059 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Thistle Foundry, Bluefield
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007318198 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Austin Eclipse Building, Bluefield
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071972381 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Art Riley Building, Bluefield
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974261 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
103 Spring Street, Bluefield
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974262 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
North Tazewell Bowling Alley, North Tazewell
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071978657 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Toney Property, Bluefield
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071981410 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Regency Auction House, Bluefield
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071987271 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Amonate Methodist Church, Bandy
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072154670 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Idot, Various
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070540942 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Busthead Market, Cedar Bluff
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070602026 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Newhall Surface Mine, Bluefield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069995143 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8

Correctional facilities

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

Vdoc/Tazewell Correctional Field Unit # 31, Tazewell
EPA FRS registry ID
110009768643
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report
Vdoc-Pocahontas Prison, Pocahontas
EPA FRS registry ID
110031248353
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Pocahontas State Correctional Center, Pocahontas
EPA FRS registry ID
110071423304
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Tazewell 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 Tazewell 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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