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Putnam County, West Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Putnam County is 150.8 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Esophagus deaths at 1.9 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 560 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (355), Rail grade crossing (102), Gas station (mapped facility) (33). 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: 38.4751, -81.8897.

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 Putnam County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	Deaths	7	3.7	1.89xSignificant	4.7 to 10.3	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	21.5	13	1.65xSignificant	16.5 to 27.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	35.3	23.8	1.48xSignificant	29.1 to 42.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	24.3	17.9	1.36xSignificant	19.5 to 30	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	37.1	30.2	1.23xSignificant	31.4 to 43.6	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	7	5.7	1.23x	4.6 to 10.3	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5.5	4.6	1.2x	3.5 to 8.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	17.3	14.5	1.19x	13.2 to 22.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	61.7	51.8	1.19xSignificant	54.3 to 69.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	13	11.3	1.15x	9.7 to 17.2	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	20.8	18.7	1.11x	16.6 to 26	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	494.7	453.4	1.09xSignificant	472.1 to 518.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.7	13.9	1.06x	11.1 to 19.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	150.8	143.2	1.05x	138.8 to 163.7	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.6	8.7	0.99x	6 to 12.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.5	18.5	0.95x	13.5 to 22.4	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	5.7	6.2	0.92x	3.3 to 9.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6	6.6	0.91x	3.8 to 9.1	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.3	4.8	0.9x	2.5 to 7	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	4.9	6.6	0.74x	2.9 to 7.9	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 Putnam County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,065.3	9,842.6	-8%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.4	75.3	+0%	years
Child mortality	51.8	59.8	-13%	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	118	96.9	+22%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	45.1	28.6	+58%	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.

Formaldehyde20.06 per million
Ethylene Oxide3.42 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde2.14 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit355
Rail grade crossing102
Gas station (mapped facility)33
Small hazardous waste generator18
Air permit holder (minor source)7
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)6
Landfill (mapped facility)5
TRI reporting facility5
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)5
Major air pollution source4
Brownfield property3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Large hazardous waste generator2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Public airport1
Coal power plant1
Hydroelectric plant1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Fike Chemical, Inc., Nitro
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 36.3. NPL Site.
EPA site ID WVD047989207 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
American Electric Power Amos Plant, Winfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Vanadium compounds, Manganese compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 7,592,633 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 25213JHNMS1530W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.8
John E Amos, St Albans
Coal power plant.
Record ID 3935 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 8
Ac&S Inc, Nitro
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Naphthalene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 20,460 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 25143CSNCXWEST1 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Aep - John E Amos Power Plant, Winfield
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042086505 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Petroleum Products Nitro Bulk Plant 09, Nitro
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046424464 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Hurricane City Of, Hurricane
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000877640 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Nitro Wwtp, Nitro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039983998 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia Inc, Buffalo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Copper, Nickel and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 44 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 25033TYTMT1SUGA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
Smith Concrete Company - Poca Plant, Poca
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $110,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010851195 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Safety-Kleen Systems Poca (Poc), Poca
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Lead, Polycyclic aromatic compounds. Reports carcinogens. 5 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 25159SFTYK15HAR (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
P. B. & S. Chemical Company, Inc. (50), Nitro
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000710302 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.6
Buffalo Town Of, Buffalo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010866358 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Springlea Hills Subdivision, Winfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010881787 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Five Star Car Wash - Teays Valley, Hurricane
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071299644 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Miller Transporters Inc, Nitro
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007878868 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Appalachian Power Company - American Electric Power - Quarrier Landfill, Winfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007886181 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Plastic Coatings Corporation, Scott Depot
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010853371 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Rcl Burco, Llc, Culloden
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010870904 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Hurricane Gas Processing Plant, Hurricane
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028303182 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Poca Dc, Poca
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030447372 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Campbells Creek Operation - (H-42 Haulroad), Scott Depot
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070259600 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Parsons Contracting Llc - Midway Stockpile Yard, Buffalo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071177160 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Chemstation Of West Virginia, St Albans
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071182312 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Marlena Partlow, Red House
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071338376 (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.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Putnam 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 Putnam 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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