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Clark County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Clark County is 178.1 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Esophagus deaths at 2.3 times the U.S. rate and Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 275 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (103), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (88), Rail grade crossing (27). 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: 37.9704, -84.1558.

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 Clark County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	Deaths	8.4	3.7	2.27xSignificant	4.7 to 13.8	2020-2024
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	7.6	4.4	1.73x	4.2 to 12.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	86.8	51.8	1.68xSignificant	75.7 to 99.1	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	7.4	4.6	1.61x	4.1 to 12.2	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	47.8	30.2	1.58xSignificant	39.7 to 57.2	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	7.2	4.8	1.5x	4.2 to 11.6	2020-2024
Thyroid	New cases	18.5	13	1.42x	12.7 to 25.9	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	31.1	23.8	1.31xSignificant	23.9 to 39.7	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	7.4	5.7	1.3x	4.2 to 12.2	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.4	17.9	1.25x	16.5 to 29.7	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	178.1	143.2	1.24xSignificant	161.5 to 196	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	527	453.4	1.16xSignificant	497.5 to 557.9	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	21.5	18.7	1.15x	16.2 to 28.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.8	18.5	1.12x	15.4 to 27.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.7	11.3	1.04x	8 to 16.8	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	8.2	8.7	0.94x	5 to 12.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.2	6.6	0.94x	3.5 to 10.5	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	11.5	13.9	0.83x	7.8 to 16.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	11.4	14.5	0.79x	7.2 to 17.1	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 Clark County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,319.8	9,842.6	+35%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.8	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	47.9	59.8	-20%	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	138.9	96.9	+43%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	75.2	28.6	+163%	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.

Formaldehyde18.58 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.91 per million
Acetaldehyde2.03 per million
Benzene1.17 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge103
NPDES wastewater discharge permit88
Rail grade crossing27
Gas station (mapped facility)12
Air permit holder (minor source)8
Small hazardous waste generator7
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
Public airport5
TRI reporting facility4
Major air pollution source3
Large hazardous waste generator3
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Brownfield property1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Gas power plant1
Solar power plant1
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.

Contech Engineered Solutions Llc, Winchester
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 1,290 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 40391CNTCH700TE (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.9
E. Kentucky Power Corp. - J.K. Smith Power Station, Winchester
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia, Naphthalene. Reports carcinogens. 1,127 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4039WKNTCK12145 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Catalent Pharma Solutions, Winchester
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol. 54,013 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 40391NTRNT1100E (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Contech Construction Prod, Winchester
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000793936 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Bodycote - Winchester, Winchester
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ammonia. 2,124 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 40391KNTCK118EN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.6
Winchester Coatings, Winchester
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001244029 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Stuff Recycling, Winchester
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $8,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110060358599 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Freeman Corp, Winchester
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006751041 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Infiltrator Systems, Inc., Winchester
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $7,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006748387 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Winchester Farms Dairy Inc., Winchester
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000379091 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Freeman Corp, Winchester
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006751041 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Valvoline Onsite, Winchester
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110022437905 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
J K Smith, Winchester
Gas power plant.
Record ID 54 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Severity 3.8
Infiltrator Systems, Inc., Winchester
Air permit holder (minor source). Penalties $7,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006748387 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Apollo Lubricants Llc, Winchester
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006748975 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Winchester Wastewater Treatment Plant, Winchester
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000542896 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Contech Construction Prod, Winchester
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000793936 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Yorktowne Mobile Estate Association Inc, Winchester
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008977232 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Catalent Pharma Solutions Llc, Winchester
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013843975 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
E. Kentucky Power Corp. - J.K. Smith Power Station, Winchester
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110017433375 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Winchester Municipal Utilities - Lower Howard Creek Wwtp, Winchester
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064596361 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Rockwell Intl Corp, Winchester
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002108291 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Catalent Pharma Solutions Llc, Winchester
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013843975 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Catalent Pharma Solutions Llc, Winchester
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013843975 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Kentucky Fertilizer Llc, Winchester
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013844037 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 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 Clark 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 Clark 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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