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Greenbrier County, West Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Greenbrier County is 186.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Kidney & renal pelvis deaths at 1.9 times the U.S. rate and Bladder deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 267 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (125), Rail grade crossing (67), Brownfield property (30). One correctional facility operates in the county, at least one with health-based drinking water violations on record. 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: 37.9724, -80.4073.

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 Greenbrier County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	6.5	3.4	1.91xSignificant	3.6 to 11.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	32.3	17.9	1.8xSignificant	24.9 to 41.4	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	7.1	4.1	1.73xSignificant	4.3 to 11.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	49.5	30.2	1.64xSignificant	41.5 to 59	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	5.9	3.7	1.59x	3.5 to 10	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	7.6	4.8	1.58x	4.4 to 12.5	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	9.1	6.2	1.47x	5.1 to 14.9	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	6	4.6	1.3x	3.5 to 10.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	186.4	143.2	1.3xSignificant	170.2 to 204.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	66.8	51.8	1.29xSignificant	57.4 to 77.7	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	30.2	23.8	1.27x	22.7 to 39.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.9	5.7	1.21x	4.3 to 11.2	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	22.2	18.5	1.2x	16.5 to 29.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.3	14.5	1.12x	11.1 to 23.3	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	14.5	13	1.12x	8.9 to 22.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	499.3	453.4	1.1xSignificant	470.3 to 529.9	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7.1	6.6	1.08x	4.3 to 11.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.9	11.3	1.05x	8.1 to 17.4	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	14.1	13.9	1.01x	9.9 to 19.8	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.7	18.7	1x	13.9 to 25.1	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.2	8.7	0.94x	4.7 to 13.4	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 Greenbrier County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	14,044.7	9,842.6	+43%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.4	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	77.6	59.8	+30%	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	149.9	96.9	+55%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	76.5	28.6	+167%	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.

Formaldehyde14.2 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.78 per million
Acetaldehyde1.41 per million
Benzene0.77 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 244 days: 227 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 37, peak 77.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit125
Rail grade crossing67
Brownfield property30
Gas station (mapped facility)16
Air permit holder (minor source)10
Small hazardous waste generator3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Large hazardous waste generator2
Heliport2
Wind power plant2
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Industrial wastewater discharge1
Battery storage plant1
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.

City Of Ronceverte, Ronceverte
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000877775 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
White Sulphur Springs Water Treatment Plant, White Sulphur Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000877784 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Anthony Correctional Cntr, White Sulphur Springs
Correctional facility (prison or jail).
EPA FRS registry ID 110013052258 (U.S. EPA ECHO + SDWIS) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Greenbrier County Public Service District No 2, Rainelle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006179580 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Greenbrier Valley, Lewisburg
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID LWB (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 5
Rupert Oil Company Inc., Rupert
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010873493 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Royal Scot Minerals, Inc, Oak Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069994697 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Anthony Correctional Cntr, White Sulphur Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013052258 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Checks Auto Parts, Llc, Alderson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046600102 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Greenbrier Complex, Rupert
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110059302874 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Wow Enterprise, Llc, Caldwell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063715001 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Burns Motor Freight, Inc., Crawley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063914260 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Mountaineer No. 1 Refuse Disposal Facility/ Mountaineer Hr No. 2/ Mountaineer Hr, Rupert
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069583837 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Mountaineer No. 1 Preparation Plant & Mountaineer Haul Road No. 1, Rupert
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069587094 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Pocahontas Mine, Rupert
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069602335 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Haulroad No. 1, Ashford
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069994247 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Clearco Loadout And Preparation Plant, Rupert
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069994687 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Little Sewell No. 1 And No. 2 Deep Mine, Rupert
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069995311 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Kuhn Branch Surface Mine, Rupert
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069995409 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Laurel Valley No. 1 Surface Mine, Charmco
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069995687 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
No. 1 Surface Mine, Quinwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069995981 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Blue Knob Surface Mine No. 1, Richwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069996078 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Leslie Refuse Facility - Prep Plant, Leivasy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069997569 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Rader Run Mine #1, Rupert
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069998008 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Lewisburg Quarry, Lewisburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070259739 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3

Correctional facilities

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

Anthony Correctional Cntr, White Sulphur Springs
EPA FRS registry ID
110013052258
Water system
WV3301317
Health-based violations
2 all time, 1 in 5 years
All violations
115
Contaminants cited
Groundwater Rule
Wastewater permit
Yes, significant noncompliance, 11 quarters in noncompliance
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Greenbrier 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 Greenbrier 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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