IN / county FIPS 18139 / county research

Rush County, Indiana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Rush County is 196 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 152 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (50), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (32), Industrial wastewater discharge (28). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 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: 39.6175, -85.4662.

How this county ranks in Indiana

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Rush County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	41.5	23.8	1.74xSignificant	29.5 to 57	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	15	8.7	1.72x	8.5 to 25	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	47.6	30.2	1.58xSignificant	35.9 to 62.3	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	81.2	51.8	1.57xSignificant	65.8 to 99.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	21.1	14.5	1.46x	12.8 to 33.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	196	143.2	1.37xSignificant	170.6 to 224.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	14.1	11.3	1.25x	8.1 to 23.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.2	17.9	1.24x	14.1 to 33.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	553.2	453.4	1.22xSignificant	509.1 to 600.3	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	18.5	18.7	0.99x	11.6 to 28.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	13.3	13.9	0.96x	7.4 to 22.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	15.5	18.5	0.84x	8.5 to 26.1	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 Rush County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,853.8	9,842.6	+0%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75	75.3	-0%	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	85.3	96.9	-12%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	20	28.6	-30%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde16.95 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde1.68 per million
Benzene0.96 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing50
NPDES wastewater discharge permit32
Industrial wastewater discharge28
Brownfield property10
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Air permit holder (minor source)4
Public airport4
Combined sewer overflow outfall3
Small hazardous waste generator3
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Hazardous waste transporter2
Major air pollution source1
Large hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
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.

Rushville Wwtp, Rushville
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0021270: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 5.9
Intat Precision, Inc., Rushville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072197343 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.8
Intat Precision Inc, Rushville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Barium, Lead, Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region) and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 36 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46173NTTPRSTATE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Intat Precision Inc, Rushville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000396660 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Trane Co, Rushville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Nickel, Lead, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 4 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46173TRNCX1300N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5
Copeland Corp Llc, Rushville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46173CPLND500CO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.7
Rushville Wwtp, Rushville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000759670 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Copeland Corporation Llc, Rushville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000396651 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Glenwood Wtr Trmt Plt, Glenwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028088664 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Trane Co, Rushville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002114417 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Rushville Wwtp, Rushville
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0021270:001 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Rushville Wwtp, Rushville
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit IN0021270:101 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Copeland Corporation Llc, Rushville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000396651 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
B&B Metal Plating, Rushville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038704275 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Flatrock Run Trail, Rushville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070440130 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Grain Elevator, Rushville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971985 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Campaign Quarters - Durbin, Rushville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071975031 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Vacant Lot, Rushville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071976040 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Smith Property, Rushville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071977085 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Flatrock Grill And Meat Market, Rushville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071979936 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Campaign Quarters Flats, Rushville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071984869 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Gulf Fertilizer Company, Rushville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071986784 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Bailey Property, Rushville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071986785 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Glenwood Wwtp, Glenwood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056005914 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Rush County Stone Company Inc, Milroy
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit ING490036: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4

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 Rush 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 Rush 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.

Scan an address in Rush County View on the heat map All Indiana counties