KY / county FIPS 21097 / county research

Harrison County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Harrison County is 189.7 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 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 113 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (33), Rail grade crossing (28), Industrial wastewater discharge (27). 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: 38.4298, -84.3282.

How this county ranks in Kentucky

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

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 Harrison County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	59.7	30.2	1.98xSignificant	47.1 to 74.9	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	101.3	51.8	1.96xSignificant	84.8 to 120.4	2019-2023
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	31.1	17.9	1.74xSignificant	21.6 to 43.6	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	28.7	18.5	1.55xSignificant	20 to 40.2	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	189.7	143.2	1.32xSignificant	166.7 to 215.3	2020-2024
All cancer	New cases	565.7	453.4	1.25xSignificant	522.9 to 611.3	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	16.9	13.9	1.22x	10.2 to 26.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	26.6	23.8	1.12x	17.3 to 39.1	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	20.8	18.7	1.11x	13.2 to 31.3	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 Harrison County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	12,273.1	9,842.6	+25%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	72.4	75.3	-4%	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	125.7	96.9	+30%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	66.7	28.6	+133%	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.

Formaldehyde18.12 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.92 per million
Acetaldehyde1.97 per million
Naphthalene1.03 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

NPDES wastewater discharge permit33
Rail grade crossing28
Industrial wastewater discharge27
Gas station (mapped facility)7
Large hazardous waste generator3
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)2
Brownfield property2
Wastewater plant (mapped facility)2
Major air pollution source1
Public airport1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Hazardous waste transporter1
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.

3m Co - Cynthiana, Cynthiana
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Cyclohexane, Xylene (mixed isomers), Methanol and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 123,404 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 41031MCMPNNEWLA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
3m Cynthiana, Cynthiana
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000379634 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6
Chromascape Inc., Cynthiana
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Ethylene glycol. 3,000 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4103WCHRMS1327N (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.7
Commercial Specialty Truck Holdings Llc, Cynthiana
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003220871 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.8
Landmark Stone, Cynthiana
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Lead. Reports carcinogens.
TRI facility ID 41031LNDMR267SA (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 4.5
Cynthiana Stp (New), Cynthiana
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110020737540 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
3m Cynthiana, Cynthiana
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000379634 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Commercial Specialty Truck Holdings Llc, Cynthiana
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003220871 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
Berry School, Berry
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971747 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Huffman Garage, Berry
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071971748 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
3m Cynthiana, Cynthiana
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000379634 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
3m Cynthiana, Cynthiana
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000379634 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Commercial Specialty Truck Holdings, Cynthiana
Large hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110072085721 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Cynthiana Stp (New), Cynthiana
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0105856: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Cynthiana Splash Pad, Cynthiana
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071408358 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Cynthiana Splash Pad, Cynthiana
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KY0113590: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.3
Cynthiana Landfill, Cynthiana
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYG120001: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2
Harrison Co Sanitation District Wastewater Collection, Cynthiana
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110070204475 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2
Cynthiana-Harrison County, Cynthiana
Public airport. O.
Record ID 0I8 (FAA / U.S. DOT)
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID node/13109454201 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Wastewater Plant
Wastewater plant (mapped facility). Mapped facility presence only; no compliance or exposure measurements.
Record ID way/1426556943 (OpenStreetMap contributors) Agency record
Severity 2
Cedarbrook Wtp, Lair
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0076635: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 1.8
E.D. Bullard Company, Cynthiana
Small hazardous waste generator.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003246336 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Perm Cast Llc, Cynthiana
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006825132 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5
Cedarbrook Wtp, Lair
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009936935 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 1.5

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 Harrison 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 Harrison 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.

Scan an address in Harrison County View on the heat map All Kentucky counties