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Webster County, West Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Webster County is 152.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 98 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (61), Rail grade crossing (24), Air permit holder (minor source) (3). 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: 38.4727, -80.4353.

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 Webster County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	37.8	23.8	1.59x	22.2 to 60.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	61.7	51.8	1.19x	45.1 to 84.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	497.4	453.4	1.1x	439.5 to 561.6	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	32.2	30.2	1.07x	20.7 to 50	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	152.2	143.2	1.06x	123.4 to 187.1	2020-2024

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 Webster County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,111.2	9,842.6	+23%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.5	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	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	134.6	96.9	+39%	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: 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.

Formaldehyde12.98 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.78 per million
Acetaldehyde1.18 per million
Benzene0.71 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit61
Rail grade crossing24
Air permit holder (minor source)3
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Brownfield property2
Small hazardous waste generator1
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.

Allegheny Wood Products Inc Mill 2, Cowen
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead And Lead Compounds, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 4 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2620WLLGHN155LW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
Camden On Gauley Town Of, Camden On Gauley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009117810 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Cowen Psd, Cowen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010851989 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Leslie Equipment Co - Site 2, Cowen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006832534 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Uk No.1, Southeast Area Deep Mines #1 Uk; South Ridge Area Dee, Sutton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010857340 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Brooks Creek Strip, Mine 16, Sutton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010862012 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Prestonia Refuse Disposal Area, Prestonia Preparation Plant, Prestonia Haulroad, Cowen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010864145 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Wv Baptist Camp At Cowen, Cowen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010878158 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Fisher Run Soil Substitute Area, Webster Springs
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027249010 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Cowen Load-Out Facility, Madison
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038372908 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Surface Mine Cowen Mine, Cowen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069562716 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Brooks Run Mining Company, Llc, Sutton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069582106 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Knight-Inc No. 1 Surface Mine, Cowen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069593862 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
O'Brien Fork No. 2 Surface Mine, Cowen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069599152 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
O'Brien Fork No.1 Surface Mine, Cowen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069607982 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
82 East Surface Mine, Cowen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069994489 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Lost Flats Surface Mines, Cowen
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069994734 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Seven Pines Mine, Sutton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069997630 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Webster County New Hq, Webster
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070114928 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Thomas Mtn. Deep Mine, Thomas Mtn. Haulroad, Birch River Haulr, Sutton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070259720 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Lake Lumber & Fence Co. Llc, Hacker Valley
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027249136 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Birch River #7 Surface Mine, Sutton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069569292 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Cove Mountain Mine, Sutton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069572894 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
May Fork #7 Deep Mine, Erbacon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069579922 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Brandy Station Mine, Erbacon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069589797 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4

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 Webster 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 Webster 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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