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Grayson County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Grayson County is 228.9 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 2.6 times the U.S. rate and Pancreas deaths at 1.6 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 208 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (68), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (61), Rail grade crossing (46). 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: 37.4723, -86.3494.

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 Grayson 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	67.3 to 94.5	2020-2024
Esophagus	New cases	10.6	4.6	2.3xSignificant	6 to 17.4	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	New cases	107.6	51.8	2.08xSignificant	92.7 to 124.3	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	29.2	17.9	1.63xSignificant	21.3 to 39.3	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	228.9	143.2	1.6xSignificant	206.5 to 253.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	Deaths	17.8	11.3	1.58xSignificant	12.1 to 25.5	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	28.1	18.7	1.5xSignificant	20.6 to 37.5	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	32.6	23.8	1.37xSignificant	24.4 to 42.9	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	8.1	6.2	1.31x	4.5 to 13.7	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	560.2	453.4	1.24xSignificant	524.6 to 597.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	16.8	13.9	1.21x	11.4 to 24.2	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	14.9	13	1.15x	9.3 to 22.8	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20	18.5	1.08x	13.6 to 28.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	12.6	14.5	0.87x	7.8 to 19.6	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 Grayson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,588.7	9,842.6	+38%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71	75.3	-6%	years
Child mortality	78.3	59.8	+31%	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	121.6	96.9	+25%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	28.9	28.6	+1%	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.

Formaldehyde20.71 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.93 per million
Acetaldehyde2.28 per million
Benzene0.9 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge68
NPDES wastewater discharge permit61
Rail grade crossing46
Gas station (mapped facility)15
Air permit holder (minor source)5
Public airport3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Small hazardous waste generator2
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Brownfield property1
Large 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.

Leggett & Platt Inc, Leitchfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers. 83,220 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42754LGGTT435EM (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Mtd Consumer Group Inc - Leitchfield Facility, Leitchfield
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Zinc compounds, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 52 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4275WLTCHF2555B (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
Great Southern Wood - Ky Inc., Millwood
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper compounds, Chromium compounds (except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region), Arsenic compounds. Reports carcinogens. 42 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42762SCWDP164MI (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.8
Clarkson Stp, Clarkson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009935856 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Campbell Hausfeld Llc, Leitchfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000381319 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Leitchfield Wastewater Treatment Plant, Leitchfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000577126 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Escue Wood Preserving Inc, Millwood
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000381328 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Caneyville Stp, Caneyville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009937346 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Wax Wtp, Clarkson
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110064625375 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Bel Brands Usa, Leitchfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110039617803 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Sheridan Street Extension, Peth Amboy
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071966959 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Vermont American Corp. Leitchfield Div., Leitchfield
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110002108987 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Majors Transit Inc, Caneyville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006755449 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Caneyville Stp, Caneyville
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0072044: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.9
Campbell Hausfeld Llc, Leitchfield
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000381319 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Youngs Auto Recyclers Inc, Leitchfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009056109 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Scotty'S Grayson County Quarry, Leitchfield
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYG840124: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.1
Wax Wtp, Clarkson
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KY0109690: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2
Scotty'S Grayson County Quarry, Leitchfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009958750 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Rough River State Park, Falls-Of-Rough
Public airport. O.
Record ID 2I3 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Leitchfield-Grayson County, Leitchfield
Public airport. O.
Record ID M20 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Grayson Co State Maintenance Garage, Leitchfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006759178 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Caneyville Crushed Stone, Caneyville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110042252228 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Plastikon Industries, Leitchfield
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044929717 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8
Plastikon Industries, Leitchfield
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044929717 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.8

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 Grayson 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 Grayson 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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