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Preston County, West Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Preston County is 147.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 336 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (247), Brownfield property (18), Gas station (mapped facility) (17). One correctional facility operates 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: 39.4679, -79.6907.

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 Preston County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Thyroid	New cases	21.7	13	1.67xSignificant	15.5 to 29.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	7.9	4.8	1.65x	4.7 to 12.8	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	8.1	6.6	1.23x	4.9 to 12.8	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	28.4	23.8	1.19x	21.8 to 36.6	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.2	17.9	1.18x	15.4 to 28.6	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13.2	11.3	1.17x	8.9 to 19	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	21.3	18.7	1.14x	15.8 to 28.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	57.9	51.8	1.12x	48.7 to 68.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.7	13.9	1.06x	10.3 to 20.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	478.5	453.4	1.06x	450.2 to 508.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	147.4	143.2	1.03x	132.2 to 164	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	28.9	30.2	0.96x	22.7 to 36.5	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.5	18.5	0.95x	12.4 to 24.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.8	8.7	0.9x	4.6 to 12.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	9.2	14.5	0.63x	5.6 to 14.6	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 Preston County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,315.3	9,842.6	+15%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	65.4	59.8	+9%	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	102.3	96.9	+5%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	36.3	28.6	+27%	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.

Formaldehyde14.33 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.82 per million
Benzene1.34 per million
Acetaldehyde1.31 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit247
Brownfield property18
Gas station (mapped facility)17
Rail grade crossing17
Air permit holder (minor source)8
Public airport8
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)6
Large greenhouse gas emitter3
Small hazardous waste generator3
TRI reporting facility3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Major air pollution source1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Scrapyard (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.

U.S. Army National Guard Camp Dawson, Kingwood
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 20,786 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 26537SRMYC24ARM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Fcc Hazelton, Bruceton Mills
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 10,853 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 26525SPHZL164SK (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Superior Fibers, Reedsville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formaldehyde, Methanol. Reports carcinogens. 5,127 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 26547HLLNCROUTE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.3
U.S. Army Camp Dawson, Kingwood
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010858214 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.6
Fcc Hazelton, Bruceton Mills
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041625925 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Town Of Rowlesburg, Rowlesburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009117801 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Krys View Apartments, Bruceton Mills
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016691659 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Town Of Terra Alta, Terra Alta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010865812 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Daugherty Coal Company, Masontown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069601452 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Monongahela Power Company, Albright, Albright
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000586143 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Whitetail Complex K-Mine Refuse, Tunnelton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010857288 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Majestic Acres, Arthurdale
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010879040 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Deerwood Service Center, Aurora
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013399376 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
T & T No. 1 Deep Mine, Grafton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069607072 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Mountain Plaza, Llc., Bruceton Mills
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070255054 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Bull Run #27 Phase Ii, Masontown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070383666 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Preparation Plant, Kingwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002405692 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Jenmar Corp Of Wv Inc, Reedsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007876593 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Indian Rocks Estates, Reedsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010880804 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Albright Sewer Dept., Albright
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $16,770.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024414285 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Plum #1 Deep Mine, Newburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069562093 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Oldcastle Lawn And Garden, Bruceton Mills
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071433384 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Town Of Tunnelton, Tunnelton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010858697 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Hazelton Mill Facility, Hazelton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010870897 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Coopers Rock State Forest, Bruceton Mills
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010879308 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8

Correctional facilities

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

United States Penitentiary - Hazelton, Bruceton Mills
EPA FRS registry ID
110070649812
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Preston 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 Preston 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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