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Caldwell County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Caldwell County is 160.7 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. The strongest disease signals are Pancreas deaths at 1.7 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 99 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Rail grade crossing (35), Industrial wastewater discharge (21), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (16). 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: 37.1658, -87.8709.

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 Caldwell County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Pancreas	Deaths	19.5	11.3	1.73xSignificant	11.9 to 31.2	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	84.4	51.8	1.63xSignificant	66.7 to 106	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	24.6	18.7	1.32x	15.6 to 37.7	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	38.9	30.2	1.29x	27.2 to 54.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	18.1	14.5	1.25x	10.1 to 30.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	29	23.8	1.22x	18.7 to 43.5	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.7	17.9	1.21x	13.1 to 34.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	160.7	143.2	1.12x	136.1 to 189	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	15.5	13.9	1.12x	8.8 to 26.3	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	476.9	453.4	1.05x	431.8 to 525.8	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 Caldwell County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,822.1	9,842.6	+30%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	96.4	59.8	+61%	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	107.4	96.9	+11%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	26.4	28.6	-8%	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.

Formaldehyde21.74 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde2.22 per million
Benzene0.81 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Rail grade crossing35
Industrial wastewater discharge21
NPDES wastewater discharge permit16
Gas station (mapped facility)11
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)4
TRI reporting facility3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Major air pollution source1
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Public airport1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
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.

Treehouse Foods, Princeton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 622,688 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42445BRMNR1475U (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Treehouse Private Brands Inc, Princeton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000591404 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Wyman Gordon Co, Princeton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Cobalt, Aluminum (fume or dust). Reports carcinogens. 41 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42445SPCLMRR6BO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Special Metals, Princeton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000381088 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Princeton Stp, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000732333 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Hydro Gear, Princeton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037071959 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Treehouse Private Brands Inc, Princeton
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000591404 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Caldwell Co State Maintenance Garage, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006759212 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Princeton Bulk Plant, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043725555 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Treehouse Private Brands Inc, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000591404 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Beshear Sawmill Inc, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017369051 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Princeton Stp, Princeton
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0028401: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Hydro Gear, Princeton
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds.
TRI facility ID 42445HYDRG375PA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3
Holcim - Mamr Inc - Fredonia Quarry, Fredonia
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009744358 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Princeton-Caldwell County, Princeton
Public airport. O.
Record ID 2M0 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Special Metals, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000381088 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Fontaine Trailer Co, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002108905 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Princeton-Caldwell County Airport, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006653790 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Rogers Group Inc - Princeton Quarry, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013875306 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Wal-Mart Supercenter #204, Princeton
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039078468 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Princeton Industrial Park, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070000457 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Dollar General Princeton, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070946940 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
John L. Stoltzfus Dairy, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071377704 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
University Of Ky Research And Education Center Rebuild, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071539087 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Ukrec Field Processing Building, Princeton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071656771 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Caldwell 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 Caldwell 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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