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Brooke County, West Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Brooke County is 154.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 225 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (86), Air permit holder (minor source) (34), Brownfield property (33). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 40 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: 40.2802, -80.5678.

How this county ranks in West 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 Brooke County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	47.5	30.2	1.57xSignificant	37.8 to 59.4	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	25.1	18.7	1.34x	18.5 to 33.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	68.7	51.8	1.33xSignificant	57.2 to 82.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	154.6	143.2	1.08x	136.7 to 174.7	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	468.8	453.4	1.03x	435.6 to 504.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	17.3	17.9	0.97x	11.6 to 25.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21.8	23.8	0.92x	14.6 to 31.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.9	18.5	0.91x	11 to 25.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.5	13.9	0.9x	7.9 to 19.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9	11.3	0.8x	5.3 to 15.1	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	11.1	14.5	0.77x	6.4 to 18.6	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 Brooke County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,823.3	9,842.6	+20%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.1	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	116.7	96.9	+20%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	68.7	28.6	+140%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 40 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde20.29 per million
Coke Oven Emissions6.41 per million
Benzene5.63 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 308 days: 225 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 36, peak 80.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit86
Air permit holder (minor source)34
Brownfield property33
Rail grade crossing18
Major air pollution source11
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)11
Gas station (mapped facility)7
TRI reporting facility7
Large hazardous waste generator5
EPA air quality monitor3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Scrapyard (mapped facility)2
Airfield1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Heliport1
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.

Mountain State Carbon Llc, Follansbee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Benzene, Ethylene, Ammonia and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 981,924 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 26037WHLNGROUTE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.1
Crown Cork & Seal Co (Usa) Inc Crown Closure Div, Weirton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Butyl alcohol, Methyl isobutyl ketone and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 373,500 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 26062NCHRH3011B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Precoat Metals, Weirton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, n-Butyl alcohol, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 177,106 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 26062RLLCT4502F (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.5
Trivium Packaging, Weirton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Methyl isobutyl ketone, Certain glycol ethers, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 68,264 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 26062STRKS3030B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.2
Severstal Wheeling Inc - Follansbee, Follansbee
Major air pollution source. Penalties $14,530.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042081939 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Jupiter Aluminum - Beech Bottom, Beech Bottom
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene. Reports carcinogens. 5,939 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2603WJPTRL2481R (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Severstal Wheeling Inc - Follansbee, Follansbee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $14,530.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042081939 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Precoat Metals, Weirton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000344716 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Maple Manufacturing Llc, Weirton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Certain glycol ethers, Naphthalene, Ethylbenzene and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,347 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2606WMPLMN31BIR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Severstal Wheeling Inc - Follansbee, Follansbee
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $14,530.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042081939 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Koppers Follansbee Tar Plant, Follansbee
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene. Reports carcinogens. 167 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 26037KPPRSKOPPE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.2
Crown Cork & Seal Co (Usa) Inc Crown Closure Div, Weirton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000344681 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.9
Wellsburg, City Of-Treatment Plant, Wellsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000877506 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Wheeling-Nisshin, Follansbee
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $27,970.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042081779 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Sal Chemical Co. Inc., Weirton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000344743 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Weirton, City Of, Weirton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010867945 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Jupiter Aluminum Corporation, Beech Bottom, Beech Bottom
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070236537 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
, Weirton
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 540090011 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 5
, Follansbee
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 540090005 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 5
Franklin Manor Wwtp, Beech Bottom
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $12,715.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010860103 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Wheeling-Nisshin, Follansbee
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $27,970.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042081779 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Wheeling-Nisshin, Follansbee
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $27,970.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042081779 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Precoat Metals, Weirton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000344716 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Peace Point Equestrian Facility, Bethany
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010809802 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Justrite Safety Group - Eagle Manufacturing Co, Wellsburg
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese. 81 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2607WJSTRT24CHA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5

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 Brooke County

West 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 Brooke County, and their findings.
West 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.
West Virginia health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
West 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.
West 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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