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Morgan County, West Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Morgan County is 195.6 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 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 103 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (59), Rail grade crossing (22), Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility) (7). 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: 39.5434, -78.2988.

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 Morgan County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	52.6	30.2	1.74xSignificant	41.4 to 66.6	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	27.7	18.5	1.5xSignificant	18.6 to 40.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	77.4	51.8	1.49xSignificant	63.4 to 94.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	195.6	143.2	1.37xSignificant	172.2 to 221.9	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	18.9	13.9	1.36x	11.9 to 29.2	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.4	14.5	1.13x	9.2 to 27.4	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.8	8.7	1.13x	5.5 to 17.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.7	11.3	1.12x	7 to 21.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	449.3	453.4	0.99x	411.8 to 489.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.2	18.7	0.97x	12.1 to 27.3	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	22.6	23.8	0.95x	15.1 to 33.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	16.9	17.9	0.94x	10.6 to 26.6	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 Morgan County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,254.4	9,842.6	+35%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.1	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	81.6	59.8	+37%	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	140.6	96.9	+45%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	62.8	28.6	+120%	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.

Formaldehyde17.48 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde1.74 per million
Benzene1.18 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit59
Rail grade crossing22
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Gas station (mapped facility)5
Brownfield property2
Major air pollution source1
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Airfield1
Public airport1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)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.

Warm Springs Psd, Berkeley Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $9,270.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010866090 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Scrap Bros. Inc., Paw Paw
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012292170 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Largent Substation, Largent
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055491472 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Morgan Run - Reissue (May 2024), Berkeley Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055491481 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Berkeley Springs, Mhc, Llc, Berkeley Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010879380 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
U.S. Silica Company- Berkeley Springs Plant, Berkeley Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069997208 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Morgan Village Mhp, Hedgesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009117268 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Morgan County Courthouse, Berkeley Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043249133 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Cacapon Resort State Pk, Berkeley Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010875767 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
U.S. Silica Company, Berkeley Springs Quarry, Berkeley Springs
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041074547 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Caperton Furnitureworks, Berkeley Springs
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070311634 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Morgan Co. Soccer Field Recreation Area & Complex Parcel 1, Berkeley Springs
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071968354 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
North Berkeley Rail Trail, Berkeley Springs
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071975095 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Valley Dale Maint. Assoc., Berkeley Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010878504 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Cacapon South Utility, Berkeley Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010876034 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Ridge View Subdivision, Berkeley Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010809811 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Paw Paw Town Of, Paw Paw
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010866045 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Town Of Bath, Berkeley Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,360.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012801726 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Morgan County Commission, Berkeley Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $7,290.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071942074 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Cacapon East Utility Association, Berkeley Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010850150 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Skyline Village Mhp, Berkeley Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027989620 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Ridge Fish Hatchery, Berkley Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070382453 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Cacapon Investments Llc, Berkeley Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020062929 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
U.S. Silica Company, Berkeley Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060372626 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Potomac Airpark, Berkeley Springs
Public airport. O.
Record ID W35 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2

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 Morgan 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 Morgan 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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