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Knox County, Indiana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Knox County is 183 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 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 420 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (141), Rail grade crossing (112), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (78). One correctional facility operates in the county. 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: 38.6611, -87.4298.

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 Knox County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Pancreas	New cases	23.3	13.9	1.68xSignificant	17.3 to 30.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	48.3	30.2	1.6xSignificant	40.1 to 57.9	2020-2024
Bladder	Deaths	6.5	4.1	1.59x	3.8 to 10.8	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	75.6	51.8	1.46xSignificant	65.1 to 87.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	15.8	11.3	1.4x	11 to 22.2	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.4	17.9	1.31x	17.4 to 30.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	183	143.2	1.28xSignificant	166.3 to 201.1	2020-2024
Leukemia	Deaths	6.9	5.7	1.21x	3.8 to 11.5	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	14.9	13	1.15x	9.7 to 22	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	515	453.4	1.14xSignificant	485.4 to 545.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.9	18.7	1.12x	15.6 to 27.5	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19	18.5	1.03x	13.8 to 25.8	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.4	23.8	1.03x	18 to 32.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	14.7	14.5	1.01x	10 to 21	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.7	8.7	0.89x	4.7 to 12.1	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 Knox County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	10,555.7	9,842.6	+7%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73.7	75.3	-2%	years
Child mortality	60	59.8	+0%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7.7	6.2	+24%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	95.7	96.9	-1%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	12.9	28.6	-55%	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.

Formaldehyde19.22 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.96 per million
Acetaldehyde1.87 per million
Benzene0.89 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 344 days: 314 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 36, peak 93.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge141
Rail grade crossing112
NPDES wastewater discharge permit78
Brownfield property16
Air permit holder (minor source)14
Gas station (mapped facility)13
Small hazardous waste generator8
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
Public airport5
TRI reporting facility5
Hazardous waste transporter4
Major air pollution source3
Scrapyard (mapped facility)3
Large hazardous waste generator2
EPA air quality monitor1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Correctional facility (prison or jail)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Heliport1
Landfill (mapped facility)1
Coal power plant1
Gas power 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.

Prestolite Battery Division, Vincennes
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 40.6. NPL Site.
EPA site ID IND006377048 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Scepter Inc, Bicknell
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Hydrogen fluoride, Copper and 3 more. Reports carcinogens. 939,552 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 47512SCPTRKNOXC (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.1
Wabash Steel Llc, Vincennes
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $7,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042008537 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Duke Energy Indiana Inc. - Edwardsport Igcc, Edwardsport
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Zinc compounds, Barium And Barium Compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 10,954 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 47528PSDWR15400 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Wabash Steel Co Llc, Vincennes
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1,417 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 47591VNCNN2007O (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Duke Energy Indiana Edwardsport Igcc, Edwardsport
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $15,312.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040086803 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Scepter Inc, Bicknell
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000403331 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Edwardsport, Edwardsport
Coal power plant.
Record ID 1004 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6.6
Bruceville Wwtp, Bruceville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,400.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037268765 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Futaba Indiana America, Vincennes
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper And Copper Compounds, Copper compounds. 770 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4759WFTBND332SU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Farbest Foods Inc., Vincennes
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Peracetic acid. 694 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4759WFRBST3672S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.2
Farbest Foods, Inc., Vincennes
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056340062 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Duke Energy Indiana Edwardsport Igcc, Edwardsport
Major air pollution source. Penalties $15,312.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040086803 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Duke Energy Indiana Edwardsport Igcc, Edwardsport
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $15,312.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040086803 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Duke Energy Indiana Edwardsport Igcc, Edwardsport
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $15,312.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040086803 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Wabash Steel Llc, Vincennes
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $7,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042008537 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Wabash Steel Llc, Vincennes
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $7,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042008537 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Wabash Valley Wood Protection Incorporated, Vincennes
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000500271 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Thunder Hill Mobile Home Park, Vincennes
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009739462 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Wabash Steel Llc, Vincennes
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $7,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042008537 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Packaging Corporation Of America, Vincennes
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070030963 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Duke Energy Indiana Llc. - Wheatland Ge, Wheatland
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001996902 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Scepter Incorporated, Bicknell
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072214568 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Wheatland Generating Facility, Wheatland
Gas power plant.
Record ID 55224 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.4
Riley Equipment, Vincennes
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese. 2 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4759WRLYQP225SU (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.4

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

Knox County Jail, Vincennes
EPA FRS registry ID
110071237124
Wastewater permit
Yes
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Knox 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 Knox 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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