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Breathitt County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Breathitt County is 224.4 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 2.5 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 380 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (286), Rail grade crossing (41), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (37). 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: 37.5148, -83.3355.

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 Breathitt County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	74.2	30.2	2.46xSignificant	57.3 to 95.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	108.9	51.8	2.1xSignificant	88.4 to 133.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	224.4	143.2	1.57xSignificant	193 to 259.8	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	27	17.9	1.51x	16.9 to 41.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	17.6	14.5	1.21x	9.8 to 29.9	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	480.6	453.4	1.06x	434.4 to 530.7	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 Breathitt County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	18,853.3	9,842.6	+92%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	67.5	75.3	-10%	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	177.4	96.9	+83%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	63.4	28.6	+122%	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.

Formaldehyde17.75 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.89 per million
Acetaldehyde1.88 per million
Benzene0.82 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge286
Rail grade crossing41
NPDES wastewater discharge permit37
Gas station (mapped facility)6
Brownfield property3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Commercial airport1
Heliport1
Scrapyard (mapped facility)1
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.

Highland Turner Elementary School Roof Replacement & Site Work, Booneville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110027852152 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Lcc Ky Llc [Consolidated], Jackson [Breathitt]
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071177560 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Llc Ky Llc - Prater South, Evanston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071222478 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Mount Carmel High School, Vancleve
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009936356 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Cardinal Reclamation Co Llc [Consolidated], Hardshell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071206591 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Boyd Co Sanitary Landfill Inc, Clayhole
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010840947 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Ky Fuel Corp [813-8028], Haddix
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067235389 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Icg Knott County Llc (813-8039), Kragon
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010839959 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Kentucky Fuel Corp [Consolidated], Evanston
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071220903 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Maple Creek Llc [813-0432], Copland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071435685 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Former Western Auto, Jackson
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071973082 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old Breathitt County Jail, Jackson
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071974087 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Jackson Hall, Jackson
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072252600 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Jackson Stp, Jackson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009051569 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Boyd Co Sanitary Landfill Inc, Clayhole
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010840947 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Lcc Ky Llc [813-0391], Lambric
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110063921993 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Ferroglobe Usa Arlr Llc [Consolidated], Hardshell
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071359906 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Jackson Stp, Jackson
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0021288: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Icg Hazard Llc 897-0584, Ned
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYGE40669: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Ferroglobe Usa Arlr Llc [Consolidated], Hardshell
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYGE41199: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Lcc Ky Llc [Consolidated], Jackson [Breathitt]
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KYGE41159: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Maple Creek Llc [813-0432], Copland
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYGE41219: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Cardinal Reclamation Co Llc [Consolidated], Hardshell
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYGE41166: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.9
Kentucky Fuel Corp 813-5032, Evanston
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0113611: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Llc Ky Llc - Prater South, Evanston
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KYGE41173: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.7

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 Breathitt 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 Breathitt 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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