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Fulton County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Fulton County is 232 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 2.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 124 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (34), Rail grade crossing (33), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (26). 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: 36.5752, -89.0605.

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 Fulton County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	80	30.2	2.65xSignificant	54.8 to 113.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	109.4	51.8	2.11xSignificant	80.6 to 146.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	232	143.2	1.62xSignificant	187.3 to 284.9	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	587.8	453.4	1.3xSignificant	514.2 to 669.7	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 Fulton County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	17,912.8	9,842.6	+82%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	68.3	75.3	-9%	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	129.3	96.9	+33%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	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.

Formaldehyde21.69 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde2.14 per million
Pahpom0.86 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge34
Rail grade crossing33
NPDES wastewater discharge permit26
Gas station (mapped facility)9
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)7
TRI reporting facility3
Brownfield property2
Small hazardous waste generator2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Major air pollution source1
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Public airport1
Large 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.

Tokai Carbon Ge Llc, Hickman
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Polycyclic aromatic compounds, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Phenanthrene, Anthracene and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 18,044 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42050SGLCR2320M (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Stella-Jones Corp, Fulton
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031433465 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Tokai Carbon Ge Llc, Hickman
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001135192 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.6
Insteel Wire Products Co, Hickman
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006654799 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Insteel Wire Products, Hickman
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 42050NSTLW3325S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Stella-Jones Corp, Fulton
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031433465 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Hickman East Stp, Hickman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009938764 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Tokai Carbon Ge Llc, Hickman
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001135192 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Fulton County Industrial Park Entrance Park, Fulton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009938871 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Jackson Purchase Distillery, Hickman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071646077 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Former Western Auto Building, Hickman
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043316827 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Old School Board Office, Fulton
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072080242 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Tokai Carbon Ge Llc, Hickman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001135192 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Fulton Co State Maintenance Garage, Hickman
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004618: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.9
Hickman East Stp, Hickman
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KY0028436: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Insteel Wire Products Co, Hickman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006654799 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Kayser Automotive Systems Usa Lp, Fulton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070672766 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Stella-Jones Corp, Fulton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031433465 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Heritage Distribution Llc, Hickman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037482337 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Fulton Co State Maintenance Garage, Hickman
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071545003 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Acee'S Neighborhood Market And Deli, Fulton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $1,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071952115 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Canadian National - Illinois Central Railroad - Fulton Railyard, Fulton
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004801: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Letica, Fulton
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070832583 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Fulton, Fulton
Public airport. O.
Record ID 1M7 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Tokai Carbon Ge Llc, Hickman
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0000094: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.9

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 Fulton 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 Fulton 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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