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Bracken County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Bracken County is 180.8 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 2.1 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 75 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (32), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (20), Industrial wastewater discharge (18). 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: 38.7145, -84.0766.

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 Bracken County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	124.3	51.8	2.4xSignificant	97 to 157.9	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	64.2	30.2	2.13xSignificant	44.5 to 90.4	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	32	17.9	1.79xSignificant	18.4 to 52.5	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	614.7	453.4	1.36xSignificant	549.2 to 686.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	180.8	143.2	1.26xSignificant	146.1 to 221.9	2020-2024

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 Bracken County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,860	9,842.6	+41%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.5	75.3	-5%	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	146.2	96.9	+51%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	59.6	28.6	+108%	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.

Formaldehyde18.24 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde1.99 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

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

Rail grade crossing32
NPDES wastewater discharge permit20
Industrial wastewater discharge18
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Brownfield property1
Hydroelectric plant1

Highest-severity records

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

Augusta Wwtp, Augusta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009939451 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Echo Hall, Augusta
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071983031 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Augusta Distillery, Augusta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071370163 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Berry Film Products Company Inc., Augusta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003220835 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Augusta Wwtp, Brooksville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070250368 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Bracken County Nuring & Rehabilitation Center, Augusta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006751354 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Bracken Co State Maintenance Garage, Brooksville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045030417 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Augusta Distillery, Augusta
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0113573: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.9
Olde World Stone Llc, Germantown [Bracken]
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071157713 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Ktc Bracken County Maintenance Garage, Brooksville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006682562 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Roger & Marlene Carl Residence, Brooksville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006762618 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Augusta Wtp, Augusta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009744036 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Bracken County Industrial Park, Augusta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009933457 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Brooksville Utilities Stp, Brooksville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009938933 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Mago Construction Co Llc - Foster Plant, Foster
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038080395 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
W Charles Blum Residence, Stonewall
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045073914 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Joseph Brent Hay Residence, Brooksville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056140885 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Stuart Hiles Residence, Brooksville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056400247 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Harold Johnson Residence, Foster
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064645923 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Kytc Item No. 6-9026, Foster
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071403074 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Augusta Distillery Warehouse Development, Augusta
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071513797 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ky 539 Over Willow Creek, Brooksville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072082119 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Private Rd, Dover
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 229312V (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Private Rd, Augusta
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 229313C (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3
Bracken, Augusta
Rail grade crossing.
Record ID 229325W (Federal Railroad Administration)
Severity 1.3

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 Bracken 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 Bracken 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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