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Franklin County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Franklin County is 158.9 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 1.4 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 459 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (159), Industrial wastewater discharge (143), Brownfield property (39). 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: 38.2412, -84.8667.

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 Franklin County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	73.5	51.8	1.42xSignificant	64.8 to 83.2	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	26.5	18.7	1.42xSignificant	21.3 to 32.8	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	41.8	30.2	1.38xSignificant	35.2 to 49.4	2020-2024
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	32.9	23.8	1.38xSignificant	26.8 to 40.2	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	23.8	17.9	1.33xSignificant	18.7 to 29.9	2019-2023
Bladder	Deaths	4.9	4.1	1.2x	2.9 to 8.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	517.4	453.4	1.14xSignificant	492.7 to 543.1	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	158.9	143.2	1.11xSignificant	145.5 to 173.2	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	5	4.6	1.09x	2.8 to 8.3	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	14.1	13	1.08x	10 to 19.3	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	9.3	8.7	1.07x	6.3 to 13.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	12	11.3	1.06x	8.5 to 16.6	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	14.2	13.9	1.02x	10.5 to 19	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	6.7	6.6	1.02x	4.3 to 10.3	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	14.7	14.5	1.01x	10.8 to 19.8	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	6.2	6.2	1x	3.6 to 10	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	17.1	18.5	0.92x	12.8 to 22.4	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	4.4	4.8	0.92x	2.5 to 7.5	2020-2024
Stomach	New cases	5.9	6.6	0.89x	3.6 to 9.4	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	4.6	5.7	0.81x	2.6 to 7.7	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 Franklin County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	11,856.1	9,842.6	+20%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	73	75.3	-3%	years
Child mortality	53.4	59.8	-11%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	7.3	6.2	+17%	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	115.5	96.9	+19%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	57.6	28.6	+102%	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.

Formaldehyde19.49 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde2.22 per million
Naphthalene1.16 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit159
Industrial wastewater discharge143
Brownfield property39
Rail grade crossing33
Gas station (mapped facility)22
Combined sewer overflow outfall17
Air permit holder (minor source)9
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)7
TRI reporting facility6
Major air pollution source5
Small hazardous waste generator3
Large hazardous waste generator2
Heliport2
Public airport1
Commercial airport1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Landfill (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.

Topy America Inc, Frankfort
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $81,414.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009744811 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.6
Nashville Wire Products, Frankfort
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers. 52,098 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 40601NSHVL616IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.6
Topy America Inc, Frankfort
Major air pollution source. Penalties $81,414.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009744811 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Topy America Inc, Frankfort
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Manganese. 10,391 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 40602TPYCRCHENA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.1
Frankfort Municipal Stp, Frankfort
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000732299 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Topy America Inc, Frankfort
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $81,414.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009744811 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Topy America Inc, Frankfort
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $81,414.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009744811 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Meritor Heavy Vehicle Systems Llc, Frankfort
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003242429 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.5
Jim Beam Brands Co - Old Grand-Dad Plant, Frankfort
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008362100 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Hayashi Telempu North America Corp, Frankfort
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110056295147 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Greenheck Fan Corp - Kentucky, Frankfort
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Manganese, Chromium, Nickel, Copper. Reports carcinogens. 1 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4060WGRNHC12HVB (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.8
Benson Valley Landfill, Frankfort
Major air pollution source. Penalties $15,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006015702 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Jim Beam Brands Co - Old Grand-Dad Plant, Frankfort
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008362100 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort
Major air pollution source. Penalties $50,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064156014 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Buffalo Trace Distillery Inc, Frankfort
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $13,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008359016 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Coolbrook Wwtp, Frankfort
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009051872 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Farmgate Wwtp, Frankfort
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009937060 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Edgewood Wwtp, Frankfort
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009937079 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Farmdale Wwtp, Frankfort
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009937630 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Huntington Woods Estates, Frankfort
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045071989 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Centria, Frankfort
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 4060WCNTRX199US (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Hayashi Telempu Na, Frankfort
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates. 48 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4060WHYSHT11FRT (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.3
Nucor Insulated Panel Group Llc Dba Centria, Frankfort
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006015187 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Benson Valley Landfill, Frankfort
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $15,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006015702 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $50,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064156014 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3

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 Franklin 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 Franklin 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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