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Gallatin County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Gallatin County is 193.3 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 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 136 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (58), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (37), Rail grade crossing (18). 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: 38.7508, -84.8988.

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 Gallatin County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	124	51.8	2.39xSignificant	95.4 to 159.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	53.1	30.2	1.76xSignificant	35.4 to 77.4	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	193.3	143.2	1.35xSignificant	156.3 to 237	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	558.7	453.4	1.23xSignificant	494.8 to 629	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 Gallatin County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,176.8	9,842.6	+24%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.6	75.3	-5%	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	143.1	96.9	+48%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	91.2	28.6	+219%	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.

Formaldehyde19.6 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.94 per million
Acetaldehyde2.06 per million
Benzene1 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge58
NPDES wastewater discharge permit37
Rail grade crossing18
Gas station (mapped facility)9
Major air pollution source2
Air permit holder (minor source)2
Public airport2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Large hazardous waste generator1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Nucor Steel Gallatin Llc, Warsaw
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Manganese And Manganese Compounds, Manganese compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 48,072 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41096GLLTNUS42W (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Nucor Steel - Warsaw Faciility, Warsaw
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000591226 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.2
Nucor Steel - Warsaw Faciility, Warsaw
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000591226 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Steel Technologies Llc, Ghent
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Nickel, Chromium, Manganese. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 41045STLTCRT1BO (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Nucor Steel - Warsaw Faciility, Warsaw
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000591226 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Mississippi Lime Co - Verona Plant, Verona
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040366065 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Nucor Gallatin Steel Llc, Ghent
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072171921 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Nucor Steel Gallatin, Ghent
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064648591 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Nucor Tubular Products - Gallatin, Ghent
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071673586 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Nucor Tubular Products - Gallatin, Ghent
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071673586 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Nucor Gallatin Steel Llc, Ghent
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072171921 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Warsaw Stp, Warsaw
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0028118: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.7
Kimmels Metalurgical Products [Kmp], Warsaw
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004172: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.5
Warsaw Stp, Warsaw
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006751719 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Willow Pointe Sanitation Co, Glencoe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009933652 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Mississippi Lime Co - Verona Plant, Verona
Large greenhouse gas emitter.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040366065 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Imi South Llc, Warsaw
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110045110018 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.5
Nucor Tubular Products Inc - Gallatin, Ghent
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004718: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.4
Sterling Ventures Llc Dba Sterling Materials, Verona
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072171922 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.3
Primetals Technologies Usa Llc, Ghent
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYR004719: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.2
Sterling Ventures Llc Dba Sterling Materials, Verona
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYG840219: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.1
Imi South Llc, Warsaw
Air permit holder (minor source).
EPA FRS registry ID 110045110018 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Primetals Technologies Usa Llc, Ghent
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071394458 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Gallatin County, Sparta
Public airport. O.
Record ID 8GK (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Willow Pointe Sanitation Co, Glencoe
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0102954: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2

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 Gallatin 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 Gallatin 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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