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Boone County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Boone County is 139.2 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 1,200 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (472), Industrial wastewater discharge (426), Gas station (mapped facility) (65). 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: 38.9648, -84.7208.

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 Boone 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	37.8	23.8	1.59xSignificant	33.5 to 42.5	2019-2023
Childhood cancer (under 15)	New cases	23.8	16.4	1.45xSignificant	16.5 to 33.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	73	51.8	1.41xSignificant	67.1 to 79.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	Deaths	2.7	2	1.35x	1.6 to 4.2	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.7	6.2	1.24x	5.8 to 10	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	Deaths	4.2	3.4	1.24x	2.9 to 6	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.8	17.9	1.22xSignificant	18.6 to 25.4	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.9	4.1	1.2x	3.4 to 7	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	21.6	18.7	1.16x	18.4 to 25.3	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	5.3	4.6	1.15x	3.8 to 7.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	21.1	18.5	1.14x	17.9 to 24.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	507.5	453.4	1.12xSignificant	491.4 to 523.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	16.1	14.5	1.11x	13.3 to 19.3	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	32.8	30.2	1.09x	28.9 to 37.2	2020-2024
Esophagus	Deaths	3.9	3.7	1.05x	2.6 to 5.6	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	4.3	4.4	0.98x	3 to 6	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	139.2	143.2	0.97x	130.8 to 147.9	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.6	4.8	0.96x	3.2 to 6.5	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.3	6.6	0.95x	4.7 to 8.3	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	10.7	11.3	0.95x	8.5 to 13.4	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	7.6	8.7	0.87x	5.9 to 9.8	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	11.3	13	0.87x	9 to 14.2	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	11.7	13.9	0.84x	9.3 to 14.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	4.7	5.7	0.82x	3.2 to 6.5	2020-2024
Stomach	Deaths	2.2	2.7	0.81x	1.3 to 3.6	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	4.5	6.6	0.68x	3.2 to 6.3	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 Boone County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	7,098	9,842.6	-28%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	78	75.3	+4%	years
Child mortality	36.1	59.8	-40%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	4.7	6.2	-24%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	73.9	96.9	-24%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	37.1	28.6	+30%	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.

Formaldehyde20.38 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde2.19 per million
Naphthalene1.69 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 242 days: 212 good, 3 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 38, peak 108.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,200 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit472
Industrial wastewater discharge426
Gas station (mapped facility)65
Small hazardous waste generator44
Rail grade crossing40
Air permit holder (minor source)36
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)28
TRI reporting facility24
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)21
Large hazardous waste generator19
Major air pollution source5
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Public airport2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Hazardous waste transporter2
Landfill (mapped facility)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Commercial airport1
Brownfield property1
Combined sewer overflow outfall1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Biomass power plant1
Coal power plant1
Scrapyard (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.

Duke Energy Kentucky Inc. East Bend Generating Station, Rabbit Hash
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Barium And Barium Compounds, Barium compounds (except for barium sulfate (CAS No. 7727-43-7)), Vanadium compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,636,622 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41091CGGSTRT338 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.5
Safran Landing Systems Kentucky Llc, Walton
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $25,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002054589 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.6
Clarios Llc, Florence
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $25,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000379643 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.6
Crane Composites Inc., Florence
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Methyl methacrylate, Cumene hydroperoxide, Cumene. Reports carcinogens. 31,743 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41042PHLPS8015D (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Mubea Inc, Florence
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Xylene (mixed isomers), Manganese, Sodium nitrite, Zinc compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 18,146 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41042MBNCX8252D (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Magni Industries Inc, Independence
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000500048 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.4
Aristech Surfaces Llc, Florence
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $8,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013363458 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Greif Packaging Llc, Florence
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, n-Butyl alcohol. 264,344 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41042VNLRC7425I (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.2
Meyer Tool Inc, Erlanger
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 1,500 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41018MYRTL1462D (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
Welding Alloys Usa Inc, Florence
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Manganese, Chromium, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 929 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41042WLDNG8535D (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Aristech Surfaces Llc, Florence
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methyl methacrylate, Butyl acrylate. 82,440 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41042RSTCH7350E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Clarios Llc, Florence
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $25,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000379643 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Duke Energy Ky - East Bend, Union
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006497585 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Greif Industrial Packaging & Services Llc, Florence
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000379741 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.7
Lyons Magnus, Walton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025345008 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.6
East Bend, Union
Coal power plant.
Record ID 6018 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 6.6
Ge Vernova, Erlanger
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Nickel, Chromium. Reports carcinogens. 520 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4101WLSTMP15JAM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Sfc Global Supply Chain Inc. Florence Ky, Florence
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 36,238 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41042SBTSS7605E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.5
Mubea Inc, Florence
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015722155 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
O'Neal Manufacturing Services, Burlington
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium, Nickel, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 270 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41005SKLCR5184L (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.4
Magni Industries Inc, Independence
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Aluminum (fume or dust), Zinc (fume or dust), Xylene (mixed isomers), n-Butyl alcohol. 10,500 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41051MGNND10250 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
M-I Llc Sweco Div, Florence
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Manganese. Reports carcinogens. 90 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41042SWCNC8029D (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
Safran Landing Systems Kentucky Llc, Walton
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $25,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002054589 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Eagle Manufacturing Llc, Florence
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 89 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41042GLMNF71IND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
Safran Landing Systems Kentucky Llc, Walton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene, Propylene, Cyanide compounds, Ammonia. 7,685 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41094CRBLLONECA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6

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 Boone 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 Boone 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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