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Butler County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Butler County is 219 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 2.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 94 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (50), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (36), Gas station (mapped facility) (2). 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: 37.1976, -86.6579.

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 Butler County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	83.4	30.2	2.76xSignificant	64.9 to 106	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	110.5	51.8	2.13xSignificant	89.1 to 136.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	219	143.2	1.53xSignificant	188 to 254.1	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	20.7	17.9	1.16x	11.5 to 34.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	512.4	453.4	1.13xSignificant	463 to 565.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.4	18.5	1.1x	11.6 to 33.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	25.5	23.8	1.07x	15.2 to 40.6	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 Butler County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,443.2	9,842.6	+16%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.7	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	108	96.9	+11%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	29.5	28.6	+3%	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.

Formaldehyde21.78 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde2.37 per million
Benzene0.83 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge50
NPDES wastewater discharge permit36
Gas station (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Large hazardous waste generator1
TRI reporting facility1
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)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.

Real Alloy Recycling Llc, Morgantown
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Aluminum (fume or dust), Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Copper And Copper Compounds, Lead compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 4,084,162 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42261MCRCY609GA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.6
Real Alloy Recycling Llc, Morgantown
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070556131 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Cmuc Stp, Morgantown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009052078 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Real Alloy Recycling Llc, Morgantown
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070556131 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Real Alloy Recycling Llc, Morgantown
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070556131 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Real Alloy Recycling Llc, Morgantown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070556131 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Star Tek Recycling Llc, Morgantown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071545022 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Real Alloy Recycling Llc, Morgantown
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070556131 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Star Tek Recycling Llc, Morgantown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071545102 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Butler Co State Maintenance Garage, Morgantown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071707595 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Cmuc Stp, Morgantown
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KY0021024: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Butler Co State Maintenance Garage, Morgantown
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004700: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Star Tek Recycling Llc, Morgantown
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0113743: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.9
Star Tek Recycling Llc, Morgantown
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0113751: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Owl'S Head Butler County Preliminary Site Preparation, Morgantown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070866490 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Butler County Sanitary Landfill, Morgantown
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0077992: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.6
B & R Lumber Co Inc, Morgantown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006757688 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Imi South Llc - Mount Washington, Morgantown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045068537 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
North Butler County Elementary School, Morgantown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020061537 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Butler County Sanitary Landfill, Morgantown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006750505 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Butler Wtp, Morgantown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013404681 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Morgantown Wtp, Morgantown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009744189 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Scottys Contracting & Stone Llc - Butler Co Quarry, Morgantown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110016620129 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Delta Faucet, Morgantown
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045046767 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Butler County Water System Inc, Morgantown
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYG640162: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.7

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 Butler 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 Butler 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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