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Carter County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Carter County is 206.9 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 327 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (212), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (73), Gas station (mapped facility) (25). 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: 38.3364, -83.0089.

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 Carter County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	63.6	30.2	2.11xSignificant	52.9 to 76	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	107.2	51.8	2.07xSignificant	93.1 to 123	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	22.6	13	1.74xSignificant	15.1 to 32.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	9.6	5.7	1.68x	5.7 to 15.6	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	23.6	14.5	1.63xSignificant	16.3 to 33	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	28.9	17.9	1.61xSignificant	20.8 to 39.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	29.1	18.7	1.56xSignificant	21.8 to 38.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	206.9	143.2	1.44xSignificant	186.5 to 229.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	597.9	453.4	1.32xSignificant	561.3 to 636.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	28.8	23.8	1.21x	20.8 to 38.9	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	16.3	18.5	0.88x	10.9 to 23.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12	13.9	0.86x	7.5 to 18.5	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	8.3	11.3	0.73x	4.9 to 13.7	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 Carter County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	15,654.6	9,842.6	+59%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	70.4	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	45.7	59.8	-23%	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	137.4	96.9	+42%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	81.9	28.6	+186%	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.

Formaldehyde18.74 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde1.95 per million
Benzene0.99 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 364 days: 324 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 36, peak 82.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge212
NPDES wastewater discharge permit73
Gas station (mapped facility)25
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)3
Major air pollution source2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Small hazardous waste generator2
TRI reporting facility2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
EPA air quality monitor1
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Public airport1
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.

The Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp - Grayson, Grayson
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nitrate compounds (water dissociable; reportable only when in aqueous solution), Sodium nitrite. 933,629 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41143CKFML800CW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.6
Cook Family Foods, Grayson
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000553320 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.9
Hinkle Contracting Co Llc - Mountain Valley Stone & Olive Hi, Olive Hill
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Lead compounds, Mercury compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene. Reports carcinogens. 100 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4116WHNKLC12434 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6
Hinkle Contracting Co Llc - Mountain Valley Stone & Olvie Hill Quarry, Olive Hill
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071948818 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.9
Olive Hill Wtp, Olive Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009959642 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
GRAYSON LAKE
EPA air quality monitor.
Record ID 210430500 (U.S. EPA AirData)
Severity 3.7
Carl Burge Clay Co, Grayson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009958457 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Star Elementary School, Rush
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $17,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025342742 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Columbia Gulf Transmission Llc - Grayson Compressor Station, Grayson
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070222723 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp, Grayson
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071723887 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Tygart Creek Elementary School, Olive Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $17,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043760490 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Eugene Rayburn Lumber Co., Inc., Olive Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110057510126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Heritage Elementary School, Carter County
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $17,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110025342957 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Carter Elementary School, Grayson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $17,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045512192 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Counts Crossroads Vocational School, Olive Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $17,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046330831 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Carter Co State Maintenance Garage, Grayson
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004605: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Mountain Materials Inc - Valley Stone #1, Olive Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009744394 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Carter County Landfill, Olive Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009935008 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Buffalo Valley Resources Llc [022-9415], Olive Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $14,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071076514 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Heidelberg Materials Midwest Aggregates Inc - Aa Limestone Quarry, Boone Furnace
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009958723 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Ky Dop Grayson Lake State Park, Olive Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043508843 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Fast Lane No 8, Grayson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070214271 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Porter Tire Center Inc, Olive Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110015608458 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Mountain Materials Inc - Brushy Creek Stone, Olive Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067650278 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Scott Mullins Pallets & Lumber, Grayson
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR003092: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.1

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 Carter 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 Carter 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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