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Putnam County, Indiana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Putnam County is 181.3 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 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 306 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (104), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (77), Rail grade crossing (57). 2 correctional facilities operate in the county, at least one with health-based drinking water violations on record. 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: 39.6668, -86.8498.

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 Putnam County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	Deaths	6.6	3.7	1.78x	3.7 to 10.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	52.7	30.2	1.75xSignificant	44 to 62.8	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	7.6	4.6	1.65x	4.5 to 12.3	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	8.8	5.7	1.54x	5.4 to 13.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	75	51.8	1.45xSignificant	64.6 to 86.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	6.8	4.8	1.42x	3.8 to 11.3	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	17.9	13.9	1.29x	12.9 to 24.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	181.3	143.2	1.27xSignificant	164.5 to 199.5	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	17.7	14.5	1.22x	12.6 to 24.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.8	17.9	1.16x	15.1 to 28	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	493.2	453.4	1.09xSignificant	464.7 to 523.1	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12.1	11.3	1.07x	8 to 17.9	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	25.1	23.8	1.05x	18.9 to 32.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	18	18.5	0.97x	12.9 to 24.5	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	12.4	13	0.95x	7.9 to 18.6	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.2	6.6	0.94x	3.6 to 10.3	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	16.8	18.7	0.9x	12 to 23	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.4	8.7	0.85x	4.6 to 11.7	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 Putnam County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,445.9	9,842.6	-14%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.8	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	40.1	59.8	-33%	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	77.5	96.9	-20%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	22.4	28.6	-22%	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.

Formaldehyde17.85 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde1.71 per million
Benzene0.92 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge104
NPDES wastewater discharge permit77
Rail grade crossing57
Gas station (mapped facility)19
Public airport9
Air permit holder (minor source)8
Brownfield property6
Major air pollution source4
Large hazardous waste generator4
TRI reporting facility4
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)4
Correctional facility (prison or jail)2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Commercial airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Combined sewer overflow outfall1
Hazardous waste transporter1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Greencastle Wdf Facility - Buzzi Unicem Usa, Greencastle
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $166,150.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056963451 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Buzzi Unicem Usa-Greencastle Plant, Greencastle
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Barium And Barium Compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds, Xylene (mixed isomers), Zinc compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. Reports PFAS. 322,677 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46135LNSTRPUTNA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 10
Poet Biorefining-Cloverdale, Llc, Cloverdale
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $64,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033219167 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Poet Biorefining-Cloverdale Llc, Cloverdale
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Acetaldehyde, Formic acid, Methanol and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 21,142 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46120LTRND2265E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Poet Biorefining-Cloverdale, Llc, Cloverdale
Major air pollution source. Penalties $64,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033219167 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Greencastle Wdf Facility - Buzzi Unicem Usa, Greencastle
Major air pollution source. Penalties $166,150.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056963451 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Heartland Automotive L L C, Greencastle
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041993643 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Poet Biorefining-Cloverdale, Llc, Cloverdale
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $64,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033219167 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Greencastle Wdf Facility - Buzzi Unicem Usa, Greencastle
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $166,150.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056963451 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Greencastle Wdf Facility - Buzzi Unicem Usa, Greencastle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $166,150.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056963451 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Heartland Automotive Llc, Greencastle
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Cyclohexane, Diisocyanates. 99,129 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46135HRTLN300SW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Poet Biorefining-Cloverdale, Llc, Cloverdale
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $64,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033219167 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Greencastle Wdf Facility - Buzzi Unicem Usa, Greencastle
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $166,150.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056963451 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Arcwood Environmental - Roachdale Landfill, Roachdale
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000748415 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Arcwood Environmental - Roachdale Landfill, Roachdale
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000748415 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Heartland Automotive L L C, Greencastle
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041993643 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Heartland Automotive L L C, Greencastle
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041993643 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Heartland Automotive L L C, Greencastle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041993643 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Crown Equipment Corporation, Greencastle
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000792946 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Speedway Wwtp, Speedway
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit IN0032972:101 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Chiyoda Usa Corporation, Greencastle
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000396483 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Chiyoda Usa Corporation, Greencastle
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000396483 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Van Bibber Lake Conservancy District, Greencastle
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006765624 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Cloverdale Municipal Wwtp, Cloverdale
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,800.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009739033 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Buzzi Unicem Usa Berry Shale Mine, Cloverdale
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037268747 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3

Correctional facilities

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

Putnamville Correctional Facility, Greencastle
EPA FRS registry ID
110006005205
Wastewater permit
Yes, 7 quarters in noncompliance
EPA detailed facility report
Putnamville Correctional Facility-Treatment Plant #2, Greencastle
EPA FRS registry ID
110012973513
Water system
IN5267005
Health-based violations
3 all time, 0 in 5 years
All violations
30
Contaminants cited
Surface Water Treatment Rule
Wastewater permit
None on record
EPA detailed facility report

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Putnam 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 Putnam 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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