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Johnson County, Kentucky: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Johnson County is 199.2 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 501 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Industrial wastewater discharge (319), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (128), Rail grade crossing (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: 37.8504, -82.8325.

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 Johnson County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	New cases	96.1	51.8	1.86xSignificant	81.4 to 113.1	2019-2023
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	54.7	30.2	1.81xSignificant	43.7 to 68	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	Deaths	9.5	6.6	1.44x	5.4 to 16.1	2020-2024
Liver & bile duct	New cases	12.3	8.7	1.41x	7.5 to 19.5	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	199.2	143.2	1.39xSignificant	176.9 to 223.9	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	21.2	17.9	1.18x	14.2 to 30.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	28.1	23.8	1.18x	19.6 to 39.2	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	487.2	453.4	1.07x	451.9 to 524.7	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	19.4	18.5	1.05x	12.7 to 28.5	2019-2023
Bladder	New cases	19.4	18.7	1.04x	13.2 to 27.9	2019-2023
Leukemia	New cases	13.7	14.5	0.94x	8.1 to 21.8	2019-2023
Pancreas	New cases	10.4	13.9	0.75x	5.9 to 17.5	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 Johnson County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	16,084.2	9,842.6	+63%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	69.4	75.3	-8%	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	110.4	96.9	+14%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	35.9	28.6	+26%	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.

Formaldehyde18.46 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.9 per million
Acetaldehyde1.99 per million
Benzene1.07 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

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

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

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

Industrial wastewater discharge319
NPDES wastewater discharge permit128
Rail grade crossing32
Gas station (mapped facility)17
Brownfield property2
Public airport1
Small hazardous waste generator1
Heliport1

Highest-severity records

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

Perry Vanhoose Mem Housing, Wittensville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006750024 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Honey Branch Regional Stp, Van Lear
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $6,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009933279 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5
Highlands Elementary School, Staffordsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110024463221 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4.5
Thelma Waste Control Inc #1, Thelma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $9,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009936347 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Mine Rite Coal Co Inc (858-0214), Flatgap
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044893782 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 4
Thelma Waste Control Inc #2, Thelma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $10,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009936418 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.8
Lees Trailer Court, Staffordsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009935632 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Czar Coal Corp [880-0117], Odds
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $179,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110011209245 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Czar Coal Corp [858-5064], Odds
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $179,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110013680123 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Beech Fork Processing Inc [Consolidated], Odds
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $179,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110067436466 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Carl D Perkins Comp Rehab Center, Thelma
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006751274 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.3
City Of Paintsville - Parking Lot Property, Paintsville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038722530 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Former Johnson County Jail, Paintsville
Brownfield property.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043315114 (U.S. EPA Brownfields (ACRES)) Agency record
Severity 3
Creekview Place Llc, Flatgap
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009937042 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Flat Gap Elementary School, Flatgap
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $4,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110021540386 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Cardinal Reclamation Co Llc [858-0251], East Point
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028294414 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3
Mine Rite Coal Co Inc [858-0214], Flatgap
Industrial wastewater discharge. Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYGE40327: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Beech Fork Processing Inc [Consolidated], Odds
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYGE40887: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Beech Fork Processing Inc [858-5070], Odds
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KYGE40276: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 3
Honey Branch Regional Stp, Van Lear
Industrial wastewater discharge. No Violation Identified.
NPDES permit KY0103578: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
D & J Coal Co Llc [858-0236], Chandlerville
Industrial wastewater discharge. Significant/Category I Noncompliance.
NPDES permit KYGE40201: (U.S. EPA NPDES)
Severity 2.8
Paintsville Wwtp, Paintsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $5,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000564078 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Mountain Comp Care Center, Hager Hill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110006749297 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Mountain Home Place, Staffordsville
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $2,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009934704 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8
Big Sandy Ctc Hagerhill Cmpus, Hagerhill
NPDES wastewater discharge permit.
EPA FRS registry ID 110009934713 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 2.8

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 Johnson 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 Johnson 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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