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Hancock County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Hancock County is 163 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2. Federal databases place 172 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (68), Rail grade crossing (40), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (32). 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: 37.8268, -86.7574.

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 Hancock County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	85.4	51.8	1.65xSignificant	64.7 to 111.5	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	40.4	30.2	1.34x	26.5 to 59.9	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	163	143.2	1.14x	132.5 to 199.1	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	466.4	453.4	1.03x	411.7 to 526.9	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 Hancock County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	9,527.1	9,842.6	-3%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	74.8	75.3	-1%	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	81.3	96.9	-16%	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.

Formaldehyde21.41 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde2.2 per million
Pahpom1.66 per million

EPA Air Quality Index 2025

Monitored on 242 days: 200 good, 0 unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. Median AQI 43, peak 97.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge68
Rail grade crossing40
NPDES wastewater discharge permit32
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)6
Major air pollution source5
TRI reporting facility4
Brownfield property3
Gas station (mapped facility)3
Large hazardous waste generator2
EPA air quality monitor1
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Public airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Large greenhouse gas emitter1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
Biomass power plant1
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.

Commonwealth Rolled Products Inc, Lewisport
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $42,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058164187 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 10
Domtar Paper Co Llc Hawesville Mill, Hawesville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Methanol, Ammonia, Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Hydrogen sulfide and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 3,896,783 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42348WLLMTPOBOX (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.6
Century Aluminum Of Kentucky, Hawesville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Carbonyl sulfide, Hydrogen fluoride, Naphthalene, Polycyclic aromatic compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 2,377,050 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42348CNTRY1627S (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9.4
Commonwealth Rolled Products Inc, Lewisport
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Butyl acrylate, Sulfuric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), n-Butyl alcohol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 432,270 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42351CMMNWKYHWY (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Precoat Metals, Hawesville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Xylene (mixed isomers), 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, n-Butyl alcohol and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 33,400 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42348WRLDS45RIV (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8
Commonwealth Rolled Products Inc, Lewisport
Major air pollution source. Penalties $42,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058164187 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Weyerhaeuser Co - Hawesville Operations, Hawesville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380926 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Commonwealth Rolled Products Inc, Lewisport
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $42,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058164187 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Precoat Metals, Hawesville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380935 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.4
Commonwealth Rolled Products Inc, Lewisport
Small hazardous waste generator. Penalties $42,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110058164187 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Southwire Co Kentucky Plant, Hawesville
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead compounds, Lead And Lead Compounds, Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, Chromium and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 3 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42348NTNLSINTER (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5
Southwire Company Llc, Hawesville
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000918348 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Lewisport Stp, Lewisport
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006751933 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Century Aluminum Of Kentucky, Hawesville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380917 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Dal-Tile Corp Lewisport Plant, Lewisport
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Chromium and Chromium Compounds(except for chromite ore mined in the Transvaal Region). 9 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 42351MRCNLMELAN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 3.8
Weyerhaeuser Co - Hawesville Operations, Hawesville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380926 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Precoat Metals, Hawesville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380935 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Precoat Metals, Hawesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380935 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Century Aluminum Of Kentucky, Hawesville
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380917 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Century Aluminum Of Kentucky, Hawesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380917 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Southwire Company Llc, Hawesville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000918348 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Hawesville Stp, Hawesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006752433 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Domtar Paper Co Llc - Hawesville Operations, Hawesville
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071499280 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Weyerhaeuser Co - Hawesville Operations, Hawesville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000380926 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
265 Main Street Hawesville, Hawesville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971752 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) 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 Hancock 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 Hancock 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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