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Harlan County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Harlan County is 232.3 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 2.2 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 1,299 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (930), Rail grade crossing (193), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (118). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 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: 36.8429, -83.2804.

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 Harlan County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	67.7	30.2	2.24xSignificant	56.3 to 81	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	113	51.8	2.18xSignificant	98 to 129.9	2019-2023
Esophagus	New cases	8.5	4.6	1.85xSignificant	4.7 to 14.4	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	232.3	143.2	1.62xSignificant	209.9 to 256.6	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	11.1	8.7	1.28x	6.7 to 17.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	519.4	453.4	1.15xSignificant	485.1 to 555.7	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.7	18.7	1.11x	14.8 to 28.7	2019-2023
Thyroid	New cases	14.2	13	1.09x	8.4 to 22.6	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	15.5	14.5	1.07x	10.1 to 22.9	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	12.8	13.9	0.92x	8 to 19.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	9.9	11.3	0.88x	5.6 to 16.3	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	13.9	17.9	0.78x	9 to 21	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	14.2	18.5	0.77x	9.1 to 21.4	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	16.3	23.8	0.68x	10.9 to 23.8	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 Harlan County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	20,676.7	9,842.6	+110%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	65.7	75.3	-13%	years
Child mortality	80.8	59.8	+35%	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	136.4	96.9	+41%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	59.4	28.6	+108%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde17.1 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.8 per million
Acetaldehyde1.64 per million
Benzene0.73 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

1,299 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

Industrial wastewater discharge930
Rail grade crossing193
NPDES wastewater discharge permit118
Brownfield property21
Gas station (mapped facility)18
Combined sewer overflow outfall6
Landfill (mapped facility)4
Heliport2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Public airport1
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Superfund (NPL) site1

Highest-severity records

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

National Electric Coil Co./Cooper Industries, Dayhoit
Superfund (NPL) site. Hazard Ranking System score 50. NPL Site.
EPA site ID KYD985069954 (U.S. EPA Superfund (SEMS/NPL)) Agency record
Severity 10
Loyall Stp, Loyall
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KY0026115: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 5.7
Loyall Stp, Loyall
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009939077 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Jrl Coal Inc [848-5615], Kildav
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $28,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044892792 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.3
Montana Bakken [Consolidated], Cawood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $233,591.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069425580 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Benham Stp, Benham
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009938988 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Lynch Stp, Lynch
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009960024 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Cumberland Sewage Treatment Plant, Cumberland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110023128587 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Jrl Coal Inc., Putney
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $28,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040456752 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Infinity Energy Inc, Bledsoe
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067595061 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Virginia Fuel Corp, Holmes Mill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069415886 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Sequoia Energy Llc [Consolidated], Bardo
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $25,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069486746 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Sequoia Energy Llc [Consolidated], Yancey
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $25,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069482713 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Inmet Mining Llc [Consolidated], Cumberland
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071370045 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.3
Harlan Stp, Loyall
Combined sewer overflow outfall. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0026093:001 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Harlan Stp, Loyall
Combined sewer overflow outfall. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0026093:002 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Loyall Stp, Loyall
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KY0026115:001 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Loyall Stp, Loyall
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KY0026115:007 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Loyall Stp, Loyall
Combined sewer overflow outfall. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KY0026115:008 (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 4
Jrl Coal Inc [848-0378], Evarts
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $28,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110008990486 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Double Branch Energy Llc [848-5586], Harlan
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069571537 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Jrl Coal Inc [848-5589], Coalgood
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $57,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070506070 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Evarts Stp, Evarts
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006750934 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Harlan Stp, Harlan
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006751997 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Montana Bakken Llc [Multiple], Pathfork
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110069228400 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5

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 Harlan 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 Harlan 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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