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Ballard County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Ballard County is 193.3 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. Federal databases place 67 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (25), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (24), Rail grade crossing (4). 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: 37.0712, -89.0184.

How this county ranks in Kentucky

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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 Ballard County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	35.3	18.5	1.91xSignificant	20.7 to 57.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	31.9	17.9	1.78x	17.2 to 54.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	29.4	18.7	1.57x	17.4 to 48.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	76.3	51.8	1.47xSignificant	56 to 102.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	44	30.2	1.46x	29 to 65.6	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	193.3	143.2	1.35xSignificant	159.2 to 233.6	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	522	453.4	1.15xSignificant	462.3 to 588.2	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 Ballard County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,005.7	9,842.6	+22%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.9	75.3	-3%	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	110.3	96.9	+14%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde21.58 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.99 per million
Acetaldehyde2.1 per million
Benzene0.77 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge25
NPDES wastewater discharge permit24
Rail grade crossing4
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Major air pollution source2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Brownfield property1
Combined sewer overflow outfall1
Small hazardous waste generator1

Highest-severity records

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

Phoenix Paper Wickliffe Llc, Wickliffe
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Hydrogen sulfide, Ammonia, Manganese compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 8,739,368 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42087WSTVCHIGHW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.8
Ingevity Virginia Corp-Wickliffe Carbon Plant, Wickliffe
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Formic acid, Methanol, Ammonia, Acetaldehyde and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 42,662 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42087WSTVCHIGHA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Wickliffe Paper Company, Wickliffe
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $8,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042076892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.9
Ingevity Virginia Corporation - Carbon Plant, Wickliffe
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380212 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.7
La Center Wwtp, La Center
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009939362 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Wickliffe Paper Company, Wickliffe
Major air pollution source. Penalties $8,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042076892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Wickliffe Paper Company, Wickliffe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $8,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042076892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Cairo Stp, City Of, Cairo
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit IL0023825:004 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Ingevity Virginia Corporation - Carbon Plant, Wickliffe
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380212 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Wickliffe Paper Company, Wickliffe
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $8,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042076892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Old Barlow School, Barlow
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971750 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Ingevity Virginia Corporation - Carbon Plant, Wickliffe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380212 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Barlow Stp, Barlow
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009938979 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Wickliffe Stp, Wickliffe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009939031 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Barlow Stp, Barlow
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0025747: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.7
Ballard Co State Maintenance Garage, La Center
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004735: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.5
Ingevity Virginia Corporation - Carbon Plant, Wickliffe
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380212 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Wickliffe Paper Company, Wickliffe
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $8,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042076892 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Ballard Conservation Llc, Blandville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $20,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043756977 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Kevil Stp, Kevil
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0033791: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.3
Davis Brothers Farms, Lovelaceville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067604818 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
James Marine Inc - Wickliffe, Wickliffe
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR003952: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.1
Daher-Tli Kevil, Kevil
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055633854 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
James Marine Inc - Wickliffe, Wickliffe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060268071 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Kevil Stp, Kevil
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009938620 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8

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 Ballard County

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