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Wetzel County, West Virginia: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Wetzel County is 219.6 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 1.9 times the U.S. rate and Pancreas deaths at 1.9 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 301 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (119), Rail grade crossing (75), Air permit holder (minor source) (59). 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: 39.5755, -80.6599.

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 Wetzel County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	57.7	30.2	1.91xSignificant	44.8 to 73.9	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	21.2	11.3	1.88xSignificant	13.1 to 33.1	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	81.1	51.8	1.57xSignificant	65.4 to 100.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	219.6	143.2	1.53xSignificant	192.6 to 250	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	21.2	13.9	1.53x	12.9 to 33.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	27.8	18.5	1.5xSignificant	18.6 to 40.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	541.5	453.4	1.19xSignificant	495.8 to 590.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	16.1	18.7	0.86x	9.8 to 26	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	17.9	23.8	0.75x	10.5 to 29.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	13.2	17.9	0.74x	7.7 to 22.3	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 Wetzel County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,540.6	9,842.6	+58%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.2	75.3	-7%	years
Child mortality	100.7	59.8	+69%	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	149.8	96.9	+55%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	60.3	28.6	+111%	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.

Formaldehyde18.55 per million
Benzene6.57 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.77 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit119
Rail grade crossing75
Air permit holder (minor source)59
Major air pollution source10
Gas station (mapped facility)7
Brownfield property6
TRI reporting facility5
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Small hazardous waste generator3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Airfield1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
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.

Paden City Groundwater, Paden City
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID WVN000304985 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Bayer Materialscience, New Martinsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000608030 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.2
Mobley Gas Plant, Smithfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Methanol, Ethylene, Ethylene glycol and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 7,595 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2643WMBLYG14624 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Hastings Extraction Plant, Pine Grove
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Benzene, Cyclohexane, Methanol and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 2,560 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 2641WHSTNGRUTE2 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Bayer Materialscience, New Martinsville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000608030 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Mobley Gas Plant, Smithfield
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055514689 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Bayer Materialscience, New Martinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000608030 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Hastings Extraction Plant, Pine Grove
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071433870 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.4
Bayer Materialscience, New Martinsville
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000608030 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Pine Grove Town Of, Pine Grove
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010147652 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Gypsy M Clagg, Residence, New Martinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012685683 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Eureka Midstream, Llc, Carbide Site, Hastings
Major air pollution source. Penalties $52,450.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056292514 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
North Shop And 84 Lumber, New Martinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070156013 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Paul Wissmach Glass Co, Paden City
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead, Cadmium compounds, Zinc compounds. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 2615WPLWSS42STE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Solid Waste Services Of Wv, Proctor
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010872449 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Keith E Hogle, Jr., Proctor
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015794611 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Klug Bros Inc, New Martinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070001350 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Wctec, New Martinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010850221 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Grandview-Doolin Psd, Proctor
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027244658 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Wetzel County School Bus Garage, New Martinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054932365 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Pvs Technologies -Natrium, New Martinsville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064827068 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Paul Wissmach Glass Company Inc, Paden City
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067392663 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Dominion Gas Transmission Extraction Plant, Pine Grove
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000711551 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Equitrans, L.P., Logansport, Smithfield
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001932721 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
City Of New Martinsville, New Martinsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006535455 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5

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 Wetzel 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 Wetzel 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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