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Wise County, Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Wise County is 222.1 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 1.9 times the U.S. rate and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 685 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (368), Rail grade crossing (146), Air permit holder (minor source) (81). 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: 36.9992, -82.6285.

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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 Wise County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	58.6	30.2	1.94xSignificant	49.4 to 69.1	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	8.8	4.8	1.83xSignificant	5.4 to 13.8	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	6.6	3.7	1.78x	3.7 to 11.1	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	222.1	143.2	1.55xSignificant	203.3 to 242.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	71.6	51.8	1.38xSignificant	61.6 to 83	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	9	6.6	1.36x	5.8 to 13.7	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	6	4.6	1.3x	3.3 to 10.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.4	5.7	1.12x	3.6 to 10.8	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9	8.7	1.03x	5.6 to 14	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	10.8	11.3	0.96x	7 to 16.1	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	13.4	14.5	0.92x	8.9 to 19.4	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11.6	13	0.89x	7.1 to 17.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	361.1	453.4	0.8x	336.7 to 386.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	14.2	18.7	0.76x	9.8 to 20.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	10.2	13.9	0.73x	6.6 to 15.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	9.8	17.9	0.55x	6 to 15.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	9.2	18.5	0.5x	5.5 to 14.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	7.3	23.8	0.31x	4.2 to 12.2	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 Wise County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,685.1	9,842.6	+39%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.8	75.3	-6%	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	107.3	96.9	+11%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	36.9	28.6	+29%	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.

Formaldehyde16.55 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.77 per million
Acetaldehyde1.5 per million
Benzene0.73 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit368
Rail grade crossing146
Air permit holder (minor source)81
Gas station (mapped facility)33
Brownfield property28
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)11
Small hazardous waste generator5
Correctional facility (prison or jail)3
Heliport3
Landfill (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Coal power plant1
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.

Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center, Saint Paul
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium And Barium Compounds, Ammonia, Vanadium compounds, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,457,864 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2428WVRGNC3425R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.2
Dominion - Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center, St Paul
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055497779 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center, St. Paul
Coal power plant.
Record ID 56808 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6.6
Big Stone Gap Regional Wwtp, Big Stone Gap
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $7,742.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012293339 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Travelers Motel Stp, Pound
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070603891 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Robinette Steel & Scrap Metal Co, Big Stone Gap
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,064.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070874706 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Bearpen Hollow #4 Mine, Imboden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070916526 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Fox Gap Mine, Dixiana
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070918395 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Blackwood Strip, Blackwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070919668 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Looney Ridge Surface Mine #1, Lower Exeter
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070924017 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Mission Hollow Imboden Mine, Stonega
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070924174 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Critical Fork Stoker Plant, Dixiana
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070924855 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
#4 Mine, Kent Junction
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070926065 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Canepatch Surface Mine, Roaring Fork Community
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070926362 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Guest Mountain No. 5 Mine, Stonega
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070926501 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Bold Camp Surface Mine, Pound
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070926942 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Sawmill Hollow #3 Mine, Roda & Derby
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070927086 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Pole Bridge Road Permit, Wise
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070927089 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Sawmill Hollow Mine #2, Roda
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070927644 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Caneptach/Sargent Hollow Surface Mine, Job 20a, Dunbar
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070928378 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Toms Creek Prep Plant, Coeburn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070928459 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Kelly Branch Surface Mine, Appalachia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070929128 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
C-N-W Regional Wastewater Treatment Authority, Coeburn
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002053438 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Halfway Branch Surface Mine, Appalachia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070919718 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Stonega Complex, Stonega
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070926130 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4

Correctional facilities

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

Doc - Wise Correctional Unit 18 Stp, Coeburn
EPA FRS registry ID
110007325411
Wastewater permit
Yes, 1 quarters in noncompliance
EPA detailed facility report
Vdoc-Red Onion Mountain Prison, Pound
EPA FRS registry ID
110006553185
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report
Wise Correctional Unit #18, Coeburn
EPA FRS registry ID
110071423306
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Wise 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 Wise 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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