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Franklin County, Arkansas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Franklin County is 192.8 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 2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 234 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (70), Air permit holder (minor source) (49), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (43). 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: 35.4869, -93.8743.

How this county ranks in Arkansas

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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 Franklin County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	59.2	30.2	1.96xSignificant	46.6 to 74.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	82.2	51.8	1.59xSignificant	67.2 to 100.1	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	26.8	17.9	1.5x	17.9 to 38.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	192.8	143.2	1.35xSignificant	168.8 to 219.5	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	31.6	23.8	1.33x	21.7 to 44.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	22.7	18.5	1.23x	14.6 to 34	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	17.2	14.5	1.19x	9.9 to 27.9	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	511.7	453.4	1.13xSignificant	470.2 to 556.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	14.2	13.9	1.02x	8.5 to 23	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.7	18.7	1x	11.9 to 28.5	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 Franklin County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,985.2	9,842.6	+32%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.3	75.3	-4%	years
Child mortality	86.5	59.8	+45%	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	96.7	96.9	-0%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	19.1	28.6	-33%	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.

Formaldehyde22.01 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde2.14 per million
Pahpom0.87 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge70
Air permit holder (minor source)49
NPDES wastewater discharge permit43
Rail grade crossing23
Gas station (mapped facility)15
Major air pollution source9
TRI reporting facility6
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)5
Public airport4
Brownfield property4
Small hazardous waste generator2
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Hydroelectric plant1
Gas power plant1
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.

Tokai Carbon Ge Llc, Ozark
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Phenanthrene, Anthracene, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 1,832 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72949SGLCR3931C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7
Sgl Carbon Llc, Ozark
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002129955 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Abb Motors & Mechanical Inc., Ozark
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Chromium, Nickel, Manganese and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 60 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72949BLDRL1910B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.9
Thomas B. Fitzhugh Generating Station, Ozark
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Naphthalene, Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Phenanthrene. Reports carcinogens. 5 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 72949RKNSS6006L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.1
Sgl Carbon Llc, Ozark
Major air pollution source. Penalties $500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002129955 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Butterball, Llc, Ozark
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025015695 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Merit Energy Company, Llc - Tobey Compressor Station, Charleston
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006035183 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Sgl Carbon Llc, Ozark
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002129955 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Butterball, Llc - Alix Feed Mill, Alix
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110014466862 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Thomas B.Fitzhugh Generating Station, Ozark
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007409571 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Abb Motor & Mechanical, Inc., Ozark
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000917553 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.4
Thomas B.Fitzhugh Generating Station, Ozark
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007409571 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Black Hills Energy Arkansas, Inc. - Stockton Compressor Station, Mulberry
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006535240 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Usda Usfs R08 Cass C C C, Ozark
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006891783 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ozark Gas Trans./Noark Comp., Alix
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007229971 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Centerpoint Energy - Webb City, Cecil
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007349191 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Black Hills Energy Arkansas - Davis Compressor Station, Altus
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007349360 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Black Hills Energy Arkansas - Sells Compressor Station, Ozark
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008251738 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Black Hills Energy Arkansas - Woolsey Compressor Station, Ozark
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025056953 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Black Hills Energy Arkansas, Inc. - Drake Compressor Station, Ozark
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040990283 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Thomas B.Fitzhugh Generating Station, Ozark
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007409571 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Thomas Fitzhugh, Ozark
Gas power plant.
Record ID 201 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.2
Rinke Garage, Altus
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976306 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Franklin County Learning Center, Ozark
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071979825 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Hoffman'S Of Ozark, Ozark
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071986169 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 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 Franklin County

Arkansas 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 Franklin County, and their findings.
Arkansas vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Arkansas health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Arkansas 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.
Arkansas 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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