WV / county FIPS 54087 / county research

Roane County, West Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Roane County is 194 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 254 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (241), Gas station (mapped facility) (3), Small hazardous waste generator (2). 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: 38.7313, -81.3514.

How this county ranks in West Virginia

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Roane County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	96.1	51.8	1.86xSignificant	78.5 to 117.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	51.5	30.2	1.71xSignificant	38.9 to 67.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	26.6	17.9	1.49x	16.9 to 40.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	20.6	14.5	1.42x	12.1 to 33.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	194	143.2	1.35xSignificant	167.5 to 224.1	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	29.7	23.8	1.25x	19 to 44.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	526.1	453.4	1.16xSignificant	480.4 to 575.4	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.9	18.7	1.12x	13.6 to 32	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18.2	18.5	0.98x	10.8 to 29.7	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 Roane County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,745.1	9,842.6	+29%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.7	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	90.2	59.8	+51%	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	139.5	96.9	+44%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde17.79 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.83 per million
Benzene1.26 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit241
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Small hazardous waste generator2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Hazardous waste transporter1
TRI reporting facility1
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.

Armacell Llc, Spencer
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000344253 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Armacell Llc, Spencer
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Diisononyl Phthalates (DINP). 1,500 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 25276MNRCH388MA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.4
Town Of Reedy, Reedy
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010865091 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Armacell Llc, Spencer
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds. 46 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2527WRMCLL19MUS (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.3
Armacell Llc, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000344253 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Camp Sheppard 4-H Camp, Gandeeville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010877989 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
City Of Spencer, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071710873 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Conserv-Spencer, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071711360 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Walton Elem, Walton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010877257 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Geary Elementary Middle School, Left Hand
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010877266 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Boggs Rock Quarry#001, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069997713 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Amma Maintenance Hdqrtrs, Amma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038111959 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Harris Oil Co, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007891326 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Eastern Solutions, Llc, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038260093 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Roane General Hospital, Spencer
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070635658 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
The Saddlerack Property, Newton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010877738 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Slate Run, Spencer
Public airport. O.
Record ID 55I (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Boggs Fld, Spencer
Commercial airport. O.
Record ID USW (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1119788048 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Walton Public Service District, Walton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010868891 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Bfs Petroleum Products-Spencer, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010874802 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Spencer Newspapers, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110005572013 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mountain Auto Supply #2, Newton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010850882 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Spring Heights Education Center, Spencer
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010880252 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
O'Dells Carwash, Amma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027249500 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Roane 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 Roane 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.

Scan an address in Roane County View on the heat map All West Virginia counties