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Brown County, Indiana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Brown County is 154 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 89 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (32), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (31), Rail grade crossing (18). 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: 39.188, -86.2259.

How this county ranks in Indiana

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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 Brown County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	75.9	51.8	1.47xSignificant	62.1 to 92.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41.5	30.2	1.37xSignificant	31.5 to 54.8	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	14.7	11.3	1.3x	8.9 to 24.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.6	17.9	1.26x	14 to 35.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	21.4	18.7	1.14x	14.3 to 31.9	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	154	143.2	1.08x	132.9 to 178.2	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	15.2	14.5	1.05x	8.1 to 26.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	445.1	453.4	0.98x	407.1 to 486.4	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.9	13.9	0.93x	7.3 to 22.2	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	21	23.8	0.88x	12.8 to 33.3	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.2	18.5	0.77x	8.4 to 23.7	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 Brown County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,646.2	9,842.6	-2%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	76.7	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	111	96.9	+15%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	43.3	28.6	+51%	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.

Formaldehyde18.17 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde1.77 per million
Benzene0.91 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 364 days: 349 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 34, peak 77.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge32
NPDES wastewater discharge permit31
Rail grade crossing18
Gas station (mapped facility)4
EPA air quality monitor1
Public airport1
Hazardous waste transporter1
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.

Nashville Wwtp, Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039895502 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Gnaw Bone Regional Sewer District, Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009973617 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Brown County State Park, Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110012139603 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Sprunica Elementary School, Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006764901 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Helmsburg Rsd Wwtp, Helmsburg
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009973975 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Nashville Wwtp, Town Of, Nashville
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0023876: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.6
Gnaw Bone Regional Sewer District, Nashville
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit IN0060526: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.3
Brown County State Park, Nashville
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0030325: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.1
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1106984066 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Helmsburg Rsd Wwtp, Helmsburg
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0058416: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.9
Camp Moneto Wwtp, Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009974830 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cars & Parts (Salvage Yard), Columbus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015828960 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Greg Rose Properties, Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043728106 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wrights Auto Parts, Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058738433 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Camp Gallahue Wwtp, Morgantown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058854333 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hard Truth Hills Quaff Holler, Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070217174 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Shelby Materials Incorporated, Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070621447 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lake Lemon Dredge Disposal, Unionville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070832088 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lake Lemon North Shore Dredge Disposal Project, Unionville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070869837 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Helmsburg Stormwater Improvements Ditch Grading & Culvert Replacement Project, Morgantown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070924063 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Lake Lemon Disposal Basin, Unionville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070926407 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Brown County Ymca, Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071220475 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Hotel Nashville, Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071221051 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Awayaday Campground, Nashville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071236460 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Getaway Outpost - Brown County, Columbus
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071295680 (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 Brown County

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